The new Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) government, headed by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, has eight ministers from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, marking their largest representation in the state cabinet.
On Friday, two MLAs from the SC community, AM Shahjahan, Indian Muslim Union (IUML) MLA from Papanasam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary and Tindivanam legislator, Vanni Arasu, were appointed to the cabinet, taking the total to eight.
One ministerial seat was allocated to the scheduled tribe, bringing the total seats reserved in the council to nine.
The previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government, led by MK Stalin, had four ministers from the SC community.
A total of 46 of Tamil Nadu’s 234 seats are reserved. Candidates of the winning party, TVK, won 24 of these reserved seats. The remaining 22 were divided between the alliance partners led by the DMK, which won 13, and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which won nine assembly segments.
Notable SC ministers include Kamali, 28, Logesh Tamilselvan, 42, V Gandhiraj, 52, Aadhav Arjuna, 42, and K Jeegatheshwari, 40.
The two Brahmins in the cabinet are TVK treasurer P Venkataramanan, a chartered accountant by training, and Ramesh Srinivasan from Srirangam Assembly constituency.
The Vijay-led cabinet included two Muslim ministers: Shah Jahan and Ji Muhammad Parvas.
With the establishment of IUML and VCK MLAs, Vijay’s government now has 35 ministers. This was the second expansion of the Vijay government in two days. On Thursday, two Congress legislators were among the 23 ministers appointed to the council, making the party part of the southern state government for the first time in 59 years. The Congress Party lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967.
“The government has been formed with the help of IUCN, VCK and Congress. Naturally, they need to include ministers from different religions and sects and (ensure) there is social representation. It is a positive sign,” political analyst P Sakthivel said.
Sakthivel said TVK wants to convey to the opposition and the public that the government will work for the oppressed and marginalized as well as the middle class.
“TVK cannot run the government with ministers hailing from Chennai only. Therefore, they have also attracted ministers from the south and from the Congo belt where they have won a large number of seats,” he added.
Academic and professional qualifications
Among the new ministers are three doctors, two engineers and four lawyers.
The number of ministers is 18 graduates, and six are postgraduates. Ministers with high academic credentials include Radhakrishnan Nagar, MLA, and Minister Mary Wilson, who is also Finance Minister. He holds a PhD in Management Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad.
Karaikudi MLA and Minister TK Prabhu is a German-trained dental surgeon. KG Arunraj, Minister of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, is a general practitioner and former government employee.
“In Tamil Nadu, we had doctors in previous governments as well. TVK is trying to convey (by including educated people in the cabinet) that the cabinet has sound educational background,” Sakthivel said.
