Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay released his party’s election manifesto on April 16 ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, announcing 336 promises across 10 categories. While the announcements drew widespread attention, financial experts have now warned that fulfilling all of Vijay’s promises would require ₹12 lakh crore per year – nearly three times Tamil Nadu’s total annual budget of ₹4.39 lakh crore for 2025, as reported in Dinamalar.
Headline Promises Targeting Women and Fishermen
While he proclaimed that he is against freebies, they are a prominent part of his 336 commitments:
- ₹2,500 per month for all women heads of households
- 6 free LPG gas cylinders annually
- ₹25,000 assistance for pregnant women
- ₹5 lakh interest-free loans for women’s self-help groups
- ₹3,000 per month for the elderly, widows, and differently-abled persons
- ₹20,000 fishing ban season relief for fishermen
The Fiscal Reality
A closer analysis reveals a staggering fiscal gap. Of Vijay’s 336 promises, just 14 promises, specifically those targeting women voters and fishermen, would alone cost ₹1.82 lakh crore per year to implement. The remaining promises would push the total annual expenditure requirement to ₹12 lakh crore, according to finance experts – a figure that dwarfs the state’s entire budget more than 2.7 times over.
Promise-Wise Cost Breakdown
The following is the itemised annual cost estimate for each major promise:
The single most expensive line item is insurance for fishermen, estimated at ₹2.62 lakh crore annually, followed by the monthly entitlement for women heads of households at ₹68,150 crore per year.
Tamil Nadu’s total budget for the year 2025 stands at ₹4.39 lakh crore. Against this backdrop, financial experts have categorically stated that the state’s existing fiscal architecture cannot accommodate the scale of spending that Vijay’s manifesto demands. The manifesto has reignited debate about the economic viability of welfare-heavy election promises ahead of what is expected to be a fiercely contested assembly election.
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