CHENNAI, May 10: Cheered and heralded by sea of delirious supporters, C Joseph Vijay took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday with a pledge that “a new era of real, secular, social justice starts now.”
The ascent of Vijay to the top job marks a significant realignment and a historic political shift in the state after his TVK emerged as the single largest party in the recent Assembly elections, shattering the decades-long dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in the state.
‘Bussy’ N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna and K A Sengottaiyan were also administered the oath of office of minister by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by senior leaders, including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and family and friends of Vijay.
Others who took the oath as ministers in Vijay’s cabinet included K G Arunraaj, P Venkataramanan, C T R Nirmal Kumar, A Rajmohan, Keerthana and K T Prabhu.
“It is a fresh, new beginning. A new era of real, secular, social justice starts…,” Vijay paused, looked down, pointed at his wrist watch and added with a dramatic flourish: “Now!” This statement was greeted with thunderous applause, cheers and whistles.
Ahead of his speech, he also signed three orders –200 units of free electricity, a task force for women’s safety and a task force to tackle the drug menace.
Asserting that he was not from any royal lineage, Vijay, in an emotive speech in chaste Tamil, said people “welcomed and accepted” him, and he will never deceive them with false promises.
Accusing the previous DMK regime of ‘burdening’ the state with Rs 10 lakh crore debt, Vijay asked people to give him time to perform and meet their expectations. He also made it clear that there was only one power centre and that was him.
He also thanked leaders from parties that supported him, including “brother” Rahul Gandhi and Left leaders, before he concluded his speech with a round of selfies he took with those who shared the dais with him and the crowd.
His Cabinet is a mix of young and experienced, with the 51-year-old actor-turned-politician’s core team finding a place in his maiden ministry.
The oath-taking ceremony, reflecting the atmosphere across the city of hard-won victory and high expectations, symbolised the arrival of a new political era, centred around Vijay’s mass appeal, youth outreach and anti-establishment approach.
Although TVK on its own did not secure the majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, Vijay managed to get support from the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI (M) and IUML to gather 120 MLAs and cross the 118 majority mark to form the Government, an act that is seen as a demonstration of his political adaptability beyond his image of a popular actor. (PTI)
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