Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay expanded his cabinet on Thursday as Ministers Rajesh Kumar and P Vishwanathan took the oath of office at Lok Bhavan. Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath to the newly inducted ministers. The expansion follows Chief Minister Vijay’s recommendation to induct 23 MLAs into the Council of Ministers, which was approved by the Governor.
This marks the first time in nearly 59–60 years that Congress is part of the Tamil Nadu cabinet.
The total strength of the Council of Ministers is 35. With Thursday’s addition, 33 ministers have now taken the oath.
Of these, 21 are from the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and two from the Congress. Vijay, along with nine other MLAs, had taken oath earlier on May 10 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Congress leaders welcomed the cabinet expansion, describing the government as a “secular progressive” coalition. Congress leader Girish Chodankar said the people of Tamil Nadu had clearly voted for a coalition government.
“Our cadres were fighting for having a share in power… today the people of Tamil Nadu have voted for a coalition govt… they wanted a secular, progressive govt,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K Selvaperunthagai highlighted the party’s strong performance and representation in the cabinet.
“We got 40/40 seats in Tamil Nadu, it’s a 100% strike rate, and now we got two ministers,” he said, adding that the day also marked Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Day.
Senior Congress leader Su. Thirunavukkarasar thanked Chief Minister Vijay and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the decision.
“It is a welcome move. I appreciate and thank Vijay for giving this offer and also Rahul Gandhi for accepting it,” he said.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Minister Aadhav Arjuna had stated that Chief Minister Vijay wanted the cabinet to function “like one family” and ensure representation to all alliance partners.
He emphasised that the alliance led by TVK remained united, with further expansion expected soon.
The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections marked a watershed moment, with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK securing 108 seats in its maiden electoral outing, the first time in the state’s history that both major Dravidian parties were voted out of power.
Though TVK emerged as the single largest party, it fell short of a majority.
Vijay received support from Congress (5 seats), CPI(M) (2), CPI (2), VCK (2), and IUML (2), parties that were previously part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance. This post-poll support enabled the formation of the new government.
