Vijay’s rocky policy runway in Tamil Nadu

One aspect of governance that has served Tamil Nadu rather well is the relative coordination between the two Dravidian majors — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam — when it comes to major industrial and policy developments. Barring some exceptions — such as when former chief minister (CM) J Jayalalithaa scrapped her rival M Karunanidhi’s ₹1,200 crore dream assembly-cum-secretariat project, and turned it into a government hospital — the two parties have largely converged on the state’s industrial and social justice needs, ensuring continuity of governance for ordinary people and relative shielding of political risk for investors. The state’s powerful bureaucracy has historically played a key role in building this relative harmony, against the backdrop of political upheaval in other states where infrastructure, development and social initiatives are often at the mercy of the party in power.

Now, that appears to be changing. This week, Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay announced the scrapping of a second airport for Chennai at Parandur, four years after his predecessor, M K Stalin, announced the project about 60km west of Tamil Nadu’s capital. The reason he gave was the displacement of several farmers in 12 villages, who were also protesting against land acquisition.

The decision might serve the political interests of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which had promised the scrapping of the project, but it could end up hurting the investment potential of the Tamil Nadu capital that is not only competing with Bengaluru and Hyderabad, but also struggling with problems at its current airport, rated far below its southern rivals. TVK’s promise of acquiring minimal agricultural land also sounds good on paper but as other states have found out, implementing such pledges is far trickier. With his surprise victory earlier this year, Vijay had upset every known political equation in Tamil Nadu. Now in power, it remains to be seen if his government upends the development models of earlier administrations and forges a new path — while continuing to deliver on the state’s record of high growth and high social mobility and justice. It can be a difficult balance to strike.