Optimism is always the dominant theme when a fledgling party is sworn into power, because it comes with the promise of a new beginning and a brash new attitude.
So, accordingly, right after his swearing in at the head of a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government on Sunday, Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay signed into effect three of his major campaign promises: 200 units of free electricity for domestic consumers, a special force for women’s safety and a crackdown on drug trafficking.
Each of these, and all of the others made on the stump, will test the new government’s revenues and its leader’s political acumen.
Vijay’s first remarks in power set the tone for his administration: He pledged a commitment to “real secularism and social justice”, doffed his hat to the youth vote, and asserted that he will be the only centre of power in the party. The last is a necessary imperative for him. Vijay’s charisma was an essential ingredient of the TVK’s success, and it will be a crucial factor as the party squares up to the challenges that lie ahead. It will hold the new entity together as it evolves its internal processes and deals with allies and adversaries, each of whom will be out to probe chinks in his armour.
Vijay’s remarks are an implicit acknowledgement of what every new party faces when voted to power. The experiences of the Aam Aadmi Party in 2013, NT Rama Rao’s Telugu Desam Party in 1983, the Janata Party in 1977 and the Asom Gana Parishad in 1985 show that the first priority for an underdefined party thrust into power is survival. All of them faced threats to their existence from established parties, be they allies or enemies, within their first year in office. Power, in Indian politics, is an eagle’s eyrie; the older chick devours the younger. Some, like TDP and AAP, come through and fly if the leader has political mettle. Others, like the Janata Party and AGP, fall apart or get reduced to rump status.
Once the euphoria of oath-taking is over, Vijay would be justified if he took a 360-degree reckoning and saw nothing but challengers all around. There’s the BJP with its anti-federal outlook, looking to use every institution to erect obstacles to states helmed by regional parties. There’s the duopoly of DMK and AIADMK eyeing the TVK as a gatecrasher to their party, even considering uniting to ward off the interloper. Not least, there will be internal tensions in TVK as idealists and pragmatists vie for influence.
Above all, and simultaneously, there are non-negotiable governance issues. The TVK has roused the hopes of women and young people with substantial welfare promises: Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women heads of households, six free LPG cylinders per family per year, and Rs 4,000 assistance for unemployed graduates. These are specific promises and will not be forgotten. On the broader economic front, there is a carryover agenda from the previous government of boosting the state’s economy to a trillion dollars by 2030, mitigating the job losses in the textile hubs and planning for an EV transition in the automobile industry.
These are formidable challenges, of course, but it was the electorate’s wisdom that they needed a brash newcomer to meet them square on. Survival in the office is an expedient for Vijay. But change is what is expected of him.