CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday expanded the Tamil Nadu Cabinet for the first time since the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) assumed office on May 10, with 23 MLAs, including two legislators from ally Congress, taking oath as Ministers at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan.
Governor in-charge Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new Ministers in the presence of CM C Joseph Vijay and Ministers, alliance leaders, legislators and officials. The portfolios of the newly inducted Ministers were expected to be announced later in the day.
Even after the ruling TVK government clarified that Tamil Thai Vazhthu would be accorded priority at all future events following the May 10 swearing-in ceremony, Thursday’s ceremony commenced with the rendition of Vande Mataram, followed by the National Anthem and the State anthem, Tamil Thai Vazhthu.
The newly inducted Ministers were Srinath (Thoothukudi), S Kamali (Avinashi), C Vijayalakshmi (Kumarapalayam), R V Ranjithkumar (Kancheepuram), Vinoth (Kumbakonam), Rajeev (Thiruvadanai), B Rajkumar (Cuddalore), V Gandhiraj (Arakkonam), P Mathan Raja (Ottapidaram), K Jegadeshwari (Rajapalayam), M Vijay Balaji (Erode East), D Logesh Tamilselvan (Rasipuram), A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban (Salem South), Ramesh (Srirangam), R Kumar (Velachery), K Thennarasu (Sriperumbudur), V Sampath Kumar (Coimbatore North), J Mohamed Farvas (Aranthangi), D Sarathkumar (Tambaram), N Marie Wilson (Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar) and K Vignesh (Kinathukadavu).
Congress MLAs P Viswanathan (Melur) and S Rajesh Kumar (Killiyoor) were also sworn in as Ministers, signalling the TVK leadership’s effort to accommodate alliance partners in the expanded Cabinet after 1962.
The expansion reflected a calibrated social and regional balancing exercise by the Vijay-led government. Seven Dalit representatives, including Arakkonam MLA Gandhiraj, Sriperumpudhur MLA Thennarasu, Avinashi MLA Kamali, Rasipuram MLA Logesh Tamilselvan and Ottapidaram MLA Mathan Raja, found place in the Cabinet. The Ministry also included four women Ministers, Vijayalakshmi, Kamali, Jegadeshwari and Keerthana.
The Cabinet prominently accommodated leaders who had risen through the Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam structure, with party sources indicating that 15 Ministers had previously held organisational responsibilities in the outfit before TVK’s electoral entry.
Minority representation also figured prominently in the Ministry, with Chief Minister Vijay, Minister Aadhav Arjuna, Aranthangi MLA Mohamed Farvas, Thoothukudi MLA Srinath and Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar MLA Marie Wilson among the prominent faces.
The Kongu belt emerged as a major beneficiary in the expansion, securing nine Ministerial berths, including representatives from Avinashi, Kumarapalayam, Erode East, Rasipuram, Salem South, Coimbatore North and Kinathukadavu.
District-wise, Chennai accounted for seven Ministers and one Speaker and one Whip, while Namakkal secured three berths. Erode, Coimbatore, Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Madurai got two each, with Congress securing representation from Kanniyakumari through Killiyoor MLA Rajesh Kumar.
However, the expansion also drew attention for the absence of representation from several regions. Theni district, which produced former Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa and O Panneerselvam, did not find a place in the new Cabinet. Significantly, the district had also remained unrepresented in the previous DMK regime.
Despite TVK winning three Assembly segments in Tirunelveli district, no MLA from the region was inducted into the Ministry. Altogether, 19 districts were left without Cabinet representation, including Tiruvallur district, where TVK had registered strong electoral gains in the Assembly polls.