Thalapathy Vijay
Thalapathy Vijay has registered a massive victory in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, his party TVK has emerged as the largest party in the state, soon Thalapathy Vijay can stake claim to form the government. Amidst all this, the election promises of TVK (Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam) remain a topic of discussion in the politics of Tamil Nadu. According to the information revealed, if the promises made by the party are implemented, the total welfare expenditure of the state can reach around Rs 99,057 crore. This is about 52% more than the current level, which can have a big impact on the financial condition of the state.
Most focus on women and farmers
The largest part of TVK’s promises is related to schemes related to women and farmers. There is a proposal to give Rs 2,500 every month under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for women, which will benefit about 1.57 crore women. It is estimated that about Rs 47,100 crore will be spent annually on this scheme, which is the largest part of the total expenditure. At the same time, an annual income support of Rs 15,000 has been promised to the farmers. About 79.4 lakh farmers will benefit from this and Rs 11,910 crore will be spent on it.
Free LPG and education schemes are also expensive
TVK has promised to provide 6 free LPG cylinders every year to 1.85 crore households. Considering the price of one cylinder as Rs 900, the burden on this scheme will be approximately Rs 9,990 crore. Apart from this, there is a scheme to give Rs 15,000 annually to the mother/guardian of children studying in government schools. This will benefit the families of 56.25 lakh students and approximately Rs 8,438 crore will be spent.
Schemes for laborers, fishermen and youth also
There is a proposal of Rs 10,000 annual assistance for farm labourers, which will benefit 96 lakh laborers and Rs 9,600 crore will be spent on it. There is a provision of annual assistance of Rs 27,000 for the families of fishermen, which will include 2.02 lakh families. Rs 545 crore will be spent on this scheme.
Under the internship stipend scheme for youth, 5 lakh youth will get benefit every year. It is proposed to give Rs 10,000 per month to graduates and Rs 8,000 per month to ITI/diploma holders, which will entail an expenditure of around Rs 5,400 crore.
Attention also on health and unemployment
TVK has promised to double the premium in the health insurance top-up scheme, which will benefit 1.5 crore families. There will be an additional expenditure of Rs 1,274 crore on this. A scheme to give monthly allowance of Rs 4,000 to the unemployed is also included, which will benefit 10 lakh people and Rs 4,800 crore will be spent on it.
Pressure on state income will increase
According to the 2025-26 budget of Tamil Nadu, the total revenue receipts of the state are Rs 3,31,569 crore. The share of TVK’s proposed welfare expenditure will be about 29.8% of this income. In comparison, the welfare and subsidy expenditure of the current DMK government is around Rs 65,167 crore, which is 19.7% of the revenue. It is clear from this that there will be a big increase in expenditure if the promises of TVK are implemented.
Challenge in the eyes of experts
Economic experts believe that spending such a huge amount can be challenging for the state. If revenues do not increase in the same proportion, fiscal deficit may increase. TVK’s election promises focus on providing relief to the common people, especially women, farmers and youth. But to implement these plans, huge financial resources will be required. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see how these promises will be implemented in a balanced manner if the party comes to power.
