J Jayalalithaa, or Amma as she is fondly referred to by her supporters, stormed back into power for a second consecutive term in Tamil Nadu’s state elections, when results were declared on May 19, 2016. Amma’s party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) grabbed 134 seats in the state assembly, and made history as well – for the first time since 1987 a party has retained power for two successive terms.

Amma’s historic victory can be attributed in large part to a slew of populist measures she promised to implement in her party manifesto. The promise of freebies was crucial for winning the support of the masses and soon after taking oath as chief minister yesterday, she rushed off to the state secretariat and signed into law five freebie schemes, fulfilling her poll promises. These include a waiver of crop loans for farmers, 100 units of power free of charge for the poor, increasing gold allocation for women from 4 grams to 8 grams, plus financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 and finally, 200 and 750 units of free power for handloom and powerloom weavers, respectively.

While the freebies have put Amma back into office, they’ve also have taken a toll on Tamil Nadu’s finances. The schemes she implemented yesterday will set the exchequer back by nearly Rs 15,000 crore, even as the state is facing a revenue deficit of Rs 9,000 crore.

But while the state’s balance sheet remains in the red, there are probably more freebies on the way. In her party’s manifesto, Amma has promised free laptops with Internet for students of classes 11 and 12 and guaranteed employment for one member of every family. She had also pledged to provide a 50 per cent subsidy for working women buying scooters, free cell phones to all ration card holders and Rs 40,000 crore to farmers in the form of loans between 2016 and 2021. The manifesto also talks about extending maternity leave from four months to nine months and giving out Rs 18,000 as maternity assistance.

One can argue about how many promises made in the manifesto will be implemented, but it would be safe to say that the giveaway parade has only just begun in Tamil Nadu.