Two Congress members were among the 23 ministers appointed to the Cabinet led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday, making the party part of the southern state’s government for the first time in 59 years. The Congress Party lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967.
Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan were sworn in as ministers in the Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government, a day after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved their inauguration. They raised slogans praising the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress is negotiating a Rajya Sabha berth from Tamil Nadu with C V Shanmugam, the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), set to retire from the Upper House in June. The ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu is expected to win this seat.
The Congress, which has five legislators in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, was among the first parties to support TVK (108 seats) when it failed to get a majority in the 234-member Assembly. It has withdrawn from the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance to support the TVK-led rally.
The Left parties, Indian Union Muslim League and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi also supported TVK as Vijay formed the first coalition government in what is now Tamil Nadu since 1952. TVK’s debut was the most impressive debut in Tamil Nadu since M. G. Ramachandran’s spell in 1977, with Vijay becoming the first non-DMK and non-All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief minister in 1967.
S Kamali, K Jegadeshwari and C Vijayalakshmi were also among those who took oath on Thursday, taking the number of women ministers in the state to four.
The new appointments increased the number of ministers in Vijay’s cabinet to 33. This was the first expansion of Vijay’s cabinet since he was sworn in with nine others on 10 May. Most of the ministers in the government are first-time legislators, graduates and Vijay loyalists.
