Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay
On May 10, chief minister-designate C Joseph Vijay came for his swearing-in ceremony wearing a suit — a deviation from his predecessors’ traditional attire. Because of SIR, Vijay had nothing to say, soon, when VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said Stalin lost. When the media reported Tamil Nadu’s GST collection was falling and investments were moving to other states with silence, the CM kept mum.
When Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar said he could go ahead with the Mekedatu dam project without Tamil Nadu ’s consent, Vijay chose not to react. “Vijay has accepted the reality of coalition politics,” says Duraisamy. On subsequent official functions, the CM sometimes wore clothes and accessories of ‘luxury’ brands, at other times he appeared in silk dhoti and shirt. He was making more than a sartorial statement: I will remain the larger-than-life star, yet not any less a political leader. A leader’s silence is not always a sign of wisdom; often it is seen as a lack of grasp over subjects and control over the administration. He may have shown his ability to adapt to political compulsions and signalled his willingness to learn. But he is yet to establish himself as a hands-on chief executive. Running a coalition govt comes with constraints. Duraisamy points out how Vijay claimed that his five-minute speech at Kolathur led to Stalin’s defeat.
Writer Rajan Kurai Krishnan is more critical when he says Vijay is yet to fit into the role of a CM. A silent CM is risky for governance,” he says. “The notion that less Vijay is more charming might have worked for a film star, but it would not for a chief minister,” he says.
“There is little clarity on who takes the executive decisions and who runs the govt. There have been several policy reversals, but Vijay owned no responsibility or offered explanation for any of them. All he did was blame the past DMK govt for present problems. Shyam agrees. There were, however, positive signals of attempts at self-improvement. His extensive campaign during the Dharapuram and Madurantakam bypolls as against his short appearances during the May assembly elections, is an example.