Tamil Nadu CM Vijay expands his Cabinet; inducts 23 new Ministers, including two from Congress

Ministry strength rises to 33; with one berth each allotted to VCK and IUML, there will be no room accommodate any splinter AIADMK group in the future.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday expanded his Council of Ministers by inducting 23 Ministers, including two from the Congress, taking the strength of his Cabinet to 33

The Chief Minister has allotted one berth each to the VCK and the IUML, which will join the government very soon, taking the Cabinet strength to its maximum of 35. This leaves no room to accommodate any splinter AIADMK group in the future.

The new Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor R V Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan here.

S Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan were the Congress MLAs who were sworn-in as Ministers. This is the first time that the Congress has joined the government in Tamil Nadu since 1967 when it was thrown out of power by the then fledgling DMK.

Vijay has done a fine balancing act in the Ministry by inducting seven Dalit Ministers, a record number, and two from the Brahmin community.

27-year-old S Kamali, a private school teacher who defeated Union Minister of State L Murugan from Avinashi, D Lokesh Tamilselvan, son of AIADMK veteran and former Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanabal, Gandhiraj, and Tennarasu have given a chance from the community, while Viswanathan is also a Dalit. The number will go up to eight when VCK’s Vanni Arasu joins the Cabinet.

School Education Minister A Rajmohan is also a Dalit. With Viswanathan likely to be allotted Higher Education portfolio, both ministries related to education will be helmed by Dalits.

For the first time in many decades, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet will have two Brahmin Ministers in Food Minister P Venkataramanan and S Ramesh, who was sworn-in on Thursday. Seven of the total 33 Ministers, including Vijay, are from Chennai, where the party won 14 of the 16 seats.

By inducting 23 Ministers and leaving one each for the VCK and the IUML, Vijay has shut the doors on the AIADMK rebels who were hoping to join the ministry.

The decision also aligns with Vijay’s keenness to protect his anti-BJP image by maintaining a strict distance from parties that allied with the BJP in past elections.

The splinter group's prospects were further damaged by a slew of corruption cases against former Ministers such as S P Velumani and C Vijaybaskar. The rebel MLAs might also face disqualification for voting against the “party whip” if the AIADMK led by Edappadi Palaniswami insists on the move.

The TVK leadership feared their inclusion would sully the party’s "anti-corruption" image and undermine its pre-poll rhetoric branding both major Dravidian parties as inherently corrupt. Many within the TVK felt that including Velumani, who is rumoured to be close to the BJP leadership, would send the wrong signal to voters.

“Moreover, the CM and his colleagues felt that inducting the AIADMK MLAs will damage the party’s reputation at a time when Opposition parties are accusing the TVK of horse-trading,” a source told DH.