From an oath at Perambur to a ₹6,220 crore loan waiver, a maiden Budget, five Assembly resolutions and two Supreme Court battles. The complete record of the first 100 days — what was delivered, what is under way, and what remains unresolved.
At 10.10 on the morning of 10 May 2026, C. Joseph Vijay took the oath of office at Perambur as the 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had won 108 of the Assembly's 234 seats with a 34.92% vote share — an actor of 69 films, in politics barely two years, now leading one of India's largest states.
One hundred days later, this is the record.
The government rests on a coalition rather than a single-party majority. TVK's 108 seats are supported by the Indian National Congress — which returned to the Tamil Nadu cabinet after 59 years — along with the VCK, the MDMK and the Indian Union Muslim League, with the CPI and CPI(M) extending outside support.
The floor test on 13 May returned 144 votes in favour and 22 against, confirming the government with a 28-seat cushion over the 116 required. J. C. D. Prabhakar was elected Speaker.
The coalition has since grown. The MDMK left the DMK alliance in June; on the government's 100th day, the VCK formalised its alliance with TVK at Ulundurpet, settling a question open since May.
The first day produced three orders, signed within hours of the oath: 200 units of free electricity for all households; the Singappen women's safety force; and instructions to close 717 TASMAC outlets within 500 metres of temples, schools and bus stands. Free bus travel for women continued unbroken.
The same day, Tamil Nadu created a dedicated AI, IT and Digital Services Ministry — India's second, after Kerala — under Velachery MLA R. Kumar.
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 10 May | Oath at Perambur; Day 1 orders; AI Ministry created |
| 12 May | 717 TASMAC outlets closed; J. C. D. Prabhakar elected Speaker |
| 13 May | Floor test won, 144–22 |
| 21 May | Congress returns to the cabinet after 59 years |
| 27 May | Meeting with the Prime Minister; NEET abolition demand renewed |
June was the month the government's programme became legible. The first Cabinet meeting on 5 June unveiled Vetri Tamizhagam — 436 schemes across 10 pillars and 54 sub-pillars, covering every department.
On 16 June came the White Paper on state finances, putting total inherited debt at ₹13.18 lakh crore with a revenue deficit of ₹78,324 crore — the document that has framed every fiscal decision since.
The rest of the month moved quickly: the crop loan waiver raised to ₹75,000 on 17 June; a unanimous resolution of all 234 MLAs against the Mekedatu dam on 19 June; the Thaimaaman gold ring scheme notified at ₹755.83 crore a year; the first Assembly speech and a NEET resolution on 23 June; the anti-drug anthem Un Thalai Nimira on 25 June; 300 new buses worth ₹127 crore on 26 June; a pulse polio drive reaching 52.91 lakh children across 43,051 booths on 28 June; and the first Collectors Conference on 29–30 June, covering 38 districts and 28 departments.
July brought the first serious resistance. On 1 July, Vijay wrote to the Prime Minister rejecting a ₹5,000 crore VB-GRAMG burden on the state. On 2 July, ISRO scientist M. Annadurai was named to chair the school curriculum design committee, and a month-long departmental accountability review began.
On 10 July, Vijay travelled to Karur and handed appointment orders to 31 family members of those who died in the September 2025 stampede — a decision the Madras High Court quashed on 27 July, holding that public employment must satisfy Articles 14 and 16 and that the appointments risked opening “floodgates.” The state appealed to the Supreme Court on 30 July.
The Cauvery dispute also began in earnest: the CWRC directed Karnataka on 28 July to release 3,500 cusecs at Biligundlu for 15 days, and the CWMA upheld that order on 30 July. The same day brought investment agreements including the state's first foreign university campus. On 31 July, Vijay presented medals to 630 police personnel.
Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson presented the first full Budget on 5 August.
| Allocation | Amount |
|---|---|
| School education | ₹44,527 Cr |
| Roads and highways | ₹21,524 Cr |
| Agriculture and farmers' welfare | ₹14,984 Cr |
| Higher education | ₹8,393 Cr |
| Vettri Veedu housing (70,000 houses) | ₹3,500 Cr |
| Vetri Laptop Scheme | ₹2,000 Cr |
| Disability welfare | ₹1,485 Cr |
| Youth welfare and sports | ₹1,051 Cr |
| Annan Seer Thittam (gold coin, silk saree) | ₹812 Cr |
| Safe Roads Mission | ₹330 Cr |
| Vetri Magalir goat-rearing scheme | ₹110 Cr |
The Budget also announced Arivagam, billed as India's first dedicated AI and innovation city; a Space Industrial Investment Zone at Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli; a Tamil-language AI model from the Tamil Virtual Academy; and a 160-court complex at Broadway. Against that, Wilson acknowledged that state debt had doubled over five years, and set out a plan to raise ₹16,000 crore in additional revenue. The stated long-term target is a $1.5 trillion economy by 2036.
The Agriculture Budget of 6 August set ₹17,000 crore in crop loans, a food-grain target of 125 lakh metric tonnes, ₹648.55 crore for crop insurance covering 15 lakh farmers, a ₹134.83 crore Kuruvai package, ₹203.64 crore for pulses and oilseeds, ₹63.81 crore for the Millet Mission, and the Soil Conservation Mission at ₹122.51 crore.
On 10 August, procurement incentives rose — fine-variety paddy to ₹2,750 a quintal, sugarcane to ₹4,000 a tonne, the first time that figure has been reached.
And on the 100th day itself, the waiver was expanded a third time: full waiver up to ₹75,000, ₹953.06 crore more for 1.38 lakh additional farmers, bringing the total to ₹6,220 crore for 13.34 lakh farmers.
| Date | Resolution |
|---|---|
| 8 Aug | 19 alliance MPs declare delimitation an injustice — DMK and AIADMK boycott |
| 10 Aug | Tamil Thai Vazhthu sung first at government functions — unanimous |
| 11 Aug | NEET abolition nationally; FCRA Amendment Bill withdrawal |
| 12 Aug | Lok Sabha frozen at 543 seats; 33% women's reservation from 2029 |
| 17 Aug | Crop loan waiver expansion under Rule 110 |
The Tamil Thai Vazhthu resolution drew support from every major party in the House — DMK, AIADMK, Congress, PMK, VCK, CPI, BJP and IUML — two days after the DMK and AIADMK had boycotted the delimitation meeting. On questions of Tamil language and identity, the House has consistently found ground it cannot find on partisan matters.
A pattern has emerged: cooperation on administration, resistance on rights. Vijay stated it directly in his Independence Day address — the government would work with the Centre on matters concerning Tamil Nadu's welfare, and oppose anything affecting the state's rights.
In practice that has meant three letters to the Prime Minister in six weeks: on the VB-GRAMG burden (1 July), on NEET for veterinary admissions (7 August), and on delimitation and women's reservation (14 August) — alongside a sustained campaign on delimitation, where projections suggest Tamil Nadu's share of the Lok Sabha would fall under either a fixed or an expanded House.
Investment commitments have crossed ₹1 lakh crore. The largest tranche came at the Vettri Tamil Nadu Investors Conclave on 13 August — 97 memoranda worth ₹67,542 crore, more than one lakh jobs expected, with roughly ₹15,050 crore from overseas investors across 16 projects. Saint-Gobain, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Titan and MAS Holdings were among the signatories, several along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam corridor Vijay toured on 3 August.
As with all such memoranda, these are commitments rather than capital deployed; conversion typically runs over several years.
Of 22 promises tracked, 7 are recorded as kept and 15 remain in progress. None are recorded as abandoned.
| Kept | Still In Progress |
|---|---|
| Free bus travel for all women | ₹1,000 monthly aid for women |
| Free LPG cylinder for women | Abolish NEET (resolution passed; Centre's call) |
| Women's safety — patrolling, fast-track courts | Complete farm loan waiver |
| 1.2 lakh government vacancies filled | Cauvery water rights |
| Revised MSP for major crops | Universal health insurance |
| Free medicines at government hospitals | Unemployment allowance for youth |
| 717 TASMAC shops closed | Anti-corruption ombudsman |
The full record, promise by promise with delivery status, is on the manifesto tracker.
Two matters have run through the entire 100 days and neither is settled.
Karur. The Supreme Court stayed the High Court judgment on 14 August, asking: “Stampede took place. Unfortunate incident happened. The government has decided to compensate them. Should government not give employment?” The stay is interim; the substantive challenge remains pending, and the CBI investigation into the stampede, in which 41 people died, continues.
Cauvery. Tamil Nadu moved the Supreme Court on 3 August, putting the shortfall at Biligundlu at 26.954 TMC. On the 100th day, the court directed Karnataka to ensure compliance with CWMA directions, sought a status report and posted the matter to 24 August. Tamil Nadu told the court it had received 14 TMC against the 64 TMC contemplated under the Tribunal award.
Beyond the two court cases: the delimitation question awaits the Centre's next move, with reports suggesting a Bill could return to Parliament after Independence Day. Fifteen manifesto promises are in progress, among them universal health insurance, the unemployment allowance and the anti-corruption ombudsman. The gold ring scheme launches on 15 September. Local body polls are expected in early 2027.
And the fiscal constraint the White Paper identified in June has not gone away. The Budget acknowledged doubled debt, and every welfare expansion since — including the loan waiver announced on the 100th day — has been made against it.
One further thing happened in these 100 days. On 23 July, Jana Nayagan released — Vijay's 69th and final film. It crossed ₹300 crore worldwide within a fortnight and became the highest overseas grosser among Tamil films of 2026. A Chief Minister's farewell to the career that made him one.
For the complete day-by-day record since 10 May, see the CM Diary.
100 Days Special Report TVK Government Governance Record August 17, 2026