Tamil Nadu CM Vijay to expand cabinet; no place for rebel AIADMK MLAs after CPI(M), VCK warnings

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will expand his Council of Ministers on Thursday by inducting legislators from his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Congress, marking the formation of the first coalition government in the state since 1952.

However, legislators from the AIADMK splinter group, who supported the TVK government during a floor test last week, are unlikely to be inducted into the Cabinet for now.  

While the Congress has confirmed its participation in the ministry tomorrow, the VCK and IUML have decided to join the government but their ministers are unlikely to be sworn in on Thursday. 

The cabinet expansion will take place at 10 am at the Lok Bhavan and Governor R V Arlekar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers. Sources told DH that about 21 ministers from the TVK and Congress will be sworn-in on Thursday, over 10 days after Vijay was sworn-in as the Chief Minister along with nine ministers. 

Chief Minister Vijay has faced intense pressure from the Left and other alliance partners not to accommodate the rebel MLAs. They also warned that they would "reconsider their support" to the TVK if the rebels were given cabinet berths. 

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 like S P Velumani and C Vijaybaskar. The rebel MLAs might also face disqualification for voting against the “party whip” if the AIADMK led by Palaniswami insists on the move. 

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 would damage the party’s reputation at a time when opposition parties are accusing the TVK of horse-trading,” a source told DH.

Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal confirmed that party president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the induction of S Rajesh Kumar and P Vishwanathan into the Tamil Nadu cabinet on Thursday.

“This is a historic occasion for us, as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years,” Venugopal said. After it was thrown out of power by the DMK in 1967, the Congress has never been part of any government in Tamil Nadu. 

This will be the first coalition government in Tamil Nadu since states were reorganized on a linguistic basis. In 1952, the Congress had formed a coalition government in the composite Madras state.

VCK has nominated Vanni Arasu to the Cabinet, IUML is yet to announce its nominee. With the VCK and IUML deciding to join the TVK government, it would mark their official exit from the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). 

As many as 25 AIADMK MLAs, led by former ministers S P Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam, defied party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s warnings of severe disciplinary action to support the Vijay government during the Trust Vote on May 13. While the splinter group initially negotiated for six to seven cabinet berths and the TVK was open to the arrangement, the ruling party ultimately developed cold feet.

The first clear sign that the rebel MLAs would be left out came hours after the Trust Vote, when Velumani and Shanmugam publicly acknowledged Palaniswami as their general secretary and stated they did not dispute his leadership.

VCK chief Thol Thirumaavalavan also noted on Wednesday that he had received indications from the TVK that the rebel AIADMK MLAs would not be accommodated, while indirectly confirming that his own party would join the government.