After swearing in as Tamil Nadu’s 13th Chief Minister on May 10, 2026, C. Joseph Vijay addressed a massive crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium with a highly choreographed, emotional first speech that leaned heavily on his mass‑hero image while also projecting a “no‑nonsense” governance stance. The speech carried three key messages: there is only one “power centre” now—the people, Tamil Nadu’s politics has changed forever, and the new government will act fast on welfare and security‑related promises.
“Only one power centre: the people”
One of the most quoted lines from Vijay’s address was his claim that “there is only one power centre”—emphatically underscoring that real power lies with the public, not with politicians, dynasties, or closed‑door lobbies. He framed his rise as a shift from “dynasty politics” to “people’s politics,” portraying himself as an ordinary man elevated by the people’s mandate rather than by birth‑privilege.
He also repeated his well‑known Tamil phrase “En Nenjil Kudiyirukkum” (“who lives in my heart”) that fans have long associated with him, blurring the line between mass‑leader and first‑time CM and re‑anchoring his legitimacy in the affective bond with the electorate rather than in traditional party‑hierarchy.
Promises announced in the first speech
Vijay signalled that his government would move quickly on election‑manifesto themes, and in the address he highlighted three immediate directions that later became the first formal orders he signed as CM:
- Free electricity up to 200 units per household, fulfilling his flagship promise to lighten the financial burden on middle‑ and lower‑income families.
- A dedicated “Women Protection Force/Singap Force” aimed at enhancing the safety of women in public spaces and fast‑tracking response to harassment‑related complaints.
- An anti‑drugs task‑force to crack down on drug trafficking and youth‑targeted narcotics, tying law‑and‑order with youth‑welfare and social‑stability.
Image‑of‑the‑CM: “I am among you”
Throughout the speech, Vijay repeatedly stressed that “I am not born in a royal family… I am like you, I am your son, your brother,” seeking to reassure the audience that he will not be a distant, palatial‑dwelling Chief Minister removed from daily‑life struggles. This language is clearly tuned to his fan‑base, but it also doubles as a political narrative: the new CM positions himself as a “people’s proxy” standing between the public and the state machinery, promising to be personally accessible and accountable.
The speech, therefore, is as much about branding Vijay’s CM‑tenure as it is about policy‑signalling: the “one power centre” line, along with the immediate orders on free electricity, women‑protection, and anti‑drugs, frames his first hours in office as a rapid break from the past, even as the rest of the cabinet‑structure and coalition‑management have yet to be fully tested on the ground.
