Chennai: Actor-turned-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay Saturday introduced a bundle of girls welfare schemes, searching for to outbid DMK and AIADMK on pre-poll guarantees forward of the 2026 Tamil Nadu meeting elections.

The centrepiece of the bulletins was a month-to-month monetary support of Rs 2,500 to girls heads of households—excluding authorities staff—obtainable for all till the age of 60.

Vijay, addressing an Worldwide Ladies’s Day occasion in Mammalapuram, introduced three different schemes too. The Annan Seer Thittam — framed as a present from a “maternal brother” — guarantees 8 grams of gold and a silk saree to girls getting married. The Thai Maaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam affords the households of newborns a gold ring every together with a “child welcome” package of meals, diapers and garments. And the Annapurani Tremendous 6 scheme guarantees six free LPG cylinders yearly to each household—a direct riposte to what Vijay known as the DMK’s “poll-time concessions” on necessities, together with gasoline cylinder costs.

To verify faculty dropouts, the Kamarajar Kalvi Uruthi Thittam would supply moms or guardians annual monetary help of Rs 15,000, he introduced.

On girls’s security, TVK proposed good panic buttons throughout all public transport—together with share-autos—linked to a centralised monitoring unit, and a ‘Zero Darkish Spots’ programme to get rid of poorly lit areas by way of city-wide CCTV and surveillance networks.

The get together additionally pledged free bus journey for girls, free sanitary napkins at ration retailers, colleges and faculties, and a devoted authorities division for girls’s welfare.

“These will not be mere bulletins however agency commitments to empower girls and guarantee their monetary independence, security, and dignity,” Vijay stated.

He added, “Security of girls is a precedence of TVK and a devoted division will probably be arrange for girls’s welfare to streamline girls security and girls empowerment initiatives.”

The proposals search to increase—or in some instances duplicate—current state provisions.

The DMK authorities has offered free bus journey for girls since 2021 and has already deployed AI-enabled panic buttons and CCTV throughout greater than 2,330 MTC (Metropolitan Company Buses-Chennai) buses, although TVK’s plan claims broader protection together with share-autos and a city-wide community.

Final month, the DMK authorities superior Rs 5,000 to Magalir Urimai beneficiaries— overlaying three months of funds plus a Rs 2,000 “summer season particular bundle”—and prolonged one-time support to senior residents, widows and individuals with disabilities.

Chief Minister M.Okay. Stalin has promised to boost the month-to-month determine to Rs 2,000 if re-elected. The DMK additionally offers Rs 25,000 in marriage help to Tenth-pass brides from low-income households below the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu scheme.

At Saturday’s occasion, Vijay briefly addressed the controversy surrounding his spouse Sangeetha’s divorce petition. “No regrets and I’ll deal with it. It’s hurting me to see my supporters being harm whereas defending me over the continued points. Let’s deal with public welfare and preserve these points apart as they aren’t price it,” he stated.

Political analysts cautioned that the bulletins would want stronger outreach to transform into votes.

“The bulletins ought to attain the goal voters and the ladies within the state additionally want to concentrate on these guarantees. That system appears to be missing and so they would possibly simply be restricted to the conferences,” stated political analyst Professor A. Ramasamy.

He added that such welfare schemes for the center class and girls have been “authorities strengths since DMK and AIADMK got here into being. The ladies welfare schemes must be pushed additional as a result of girls type greater than 50 p.c voter base (in Tamil Nadu)”.

Analysts additionally pointed to the contradiction with Vijay’s earlier stand towards “freebies”–a stand he had adopted publicly at TVK’s inaugural convention at Vikravandi.

“The freebies will not be considered as freebies however extra of welfare schemes and this tradition was accelerated after 2006 when senior DMK chief late Okay. Karunanidhi introduced free TV, gasoline cylinder and different provisions. Whereas Vijay, throughout his first convention in Vikravandi, said that he’s towards the freebie tradition, the state of affairs in TN is just not beneficial for a similar. TVK is repositioning himself by asserting these welfare schemes, most of that are already current in some type of the opposite. However TVK is attaching a private enchantment to those schemes. The additional push might be to prop up his picture because of the ongoing private controversies,” stated Arun Kumar, Assistant Professor of political science at VIT Chennai.

(Edited by Prerna Madan)

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