Congress to join Vijay-led Tamil Nadu cabinet on May 21, K C Venugopal confirms

Chennai: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the induction of party legislators S Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan into the C Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu cabinet and they will take oath as ministers on May 21, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said on Wednesday.

Venugopal said it will be a historic occasion for the party as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years.

VCK and IUML nominees are also expected to join the Vijay-led Cabinet and induction of AIADMK rebels is not on the cards, party sources said.

Meanwhile, a Lok Bhavan release said the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers will be held at 10 am on Thursday, but did not specify how many of them will take oath.

TVK top leader and Minister for Public Works and Sports Development, Aadhav Arjuna on Wednesday urged the Congress, VCK and IUML to join the government and said it was the wish of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.

Viswanathan was elected from Melur (Madurai) and Rajesh Kumar won from Killiyoor segment (Kanyakumari).

Congress leader Venugopal said in a social media post: "INC President Sh. Mallikarjun @kharge ji has approved the induction of INC MLAs Adv. Rajesh Kumar and Thiru P. Vishwanathan into the Tamil Nadu cabinet, and they will be taking oath as Ministers tomorrow.

This is a historic occasion for us, as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years!

I convey my best wishes to them, we are confident that they will deliver on the hopes and aspirations of the people of Tamil Nadu, and will work to realise the bold vision of welfare and pro-people governance laid down by LOP Sh. @RahulGandhiji."

Rajesh Kumar was among the handful of Congress leaders to have demanded share in power months before the Assembly polls. He had last year said that the Congress would "push for a coalition government."

Beginning last year, though a section of Congress leaders favoured alliance with the TVK, the national party decided to continue with its alliance with the DMK.

Ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, in the wake of demands seeking share in power from then ally Congress, DMK President M K Stalin had said that power sharing formula will not work in Tamil Nadu.

While TVK chief Vijay offered share in power after launching his party in 2024, DMK maintained that it will not suit Tamil Nadu and the demand seeking power share became a major sore point in the ties between DMK and Congress.

Stalin and Rahul Gandhi did not campaign together for the polls.

From 1952 to 1967, the Congress party helmed Tamil Nadu, then known as Madras state, under chief ministers C Rajagopalachari, K Kamaraj and M Bhaktavatsalam. The first provincial election was held in 1952 after independence.

After the DMK stormed to power in 1967 and till 2026, though the grand old party had aligned with both the DMK and the AIADMK, it was never part of the government in Tamil Nadu.

During the 2006-11 regime of the DMK, Congress had unsuccessfully made demands for share in power.

The Congress, which has five MLAs, walked out of the DMK-led alliance following election results --on May 4-- to extend support to the maiden TVK government.