2 Congress MLAs, 21 from CM Vijay's TVK take oath in historic Tamil Nadu cabinet expansion
Nearly two weeks after forming government, chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led TVK Cabinet was expanded on Thursday with the scheduled inclusion of 23 new members, including two Congress MLAs — a first in nearly six decades.
The swearing-in ceremony began at the Lok Bhavan at 10 am, with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administering the oath of office to the minister-designates. TVK MLAs, including Srinath, S Kamali, C Vijayalakshmi and R V Ranjithkumar were initially sworn-in as ministers.
While the latest expansion has taken the number of ministers in CM Vijay-led cabinet to 33, the total strength of the council is 35.
Full list of leaders who took oath
Rajesh Kumar S — Killiyoor (Congress)
P. Viswanathan — Melur (Congress)
Srinath — Thoothukudi
Kamali S — Avinashi
C. Vijayalakshmi — Kumarapalayam
R.V. Ranjithkumar — Kancheepuram
Vinoth — Kumbakonam
Rajeev — Thiruvadanai
B. Rajkumar — Cuddalore
V. Gandhiraj — Arakkonam
Mathan Raja P — Ottapidaram
Jegadeshwari K — Rajapalayam
M. Vijay Balaji — Erode East
Logesh Tamilselvan D — Rasipuram
Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A — Salem South
Ramesh — Srirangam
Kumar R — Velachery
Thennarasu K — Sriperumbudur
V. Sampath Kumar — Coimbatore North
Mohamed Farvas J — Aranthangi
D. Sarathkumar — Tambaram
N. Marie Wilson — Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar
Vignesh K — Kinathukadavu
Of the total ministerial composition, 21 MLAs are from Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and two are from the Congress. Chief minister Vijay, along with nine other MLAs, had earlier taken oath on May 10 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
“This is a historic occasion for us, as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years,” Venugopal wrote in a post on X on Wednesday as he conveyed his best wishes to the two party leaders joining the cabinet.
Congress MLAs who took oath
S Rajesh Kumar, a seasoned politician and a three time legislator for Killiyoor constituency in Kanyakumari district took oath on Thursday to join the Tamil Nadu cabinet. Rajesh Kumar, 51, is also the former District Congress Committee President of the Kanyakumari west.
In the 2026 assembly elections, he secured 66,434 votes defeating Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate S Sabin by a margin of 1,311 votes.
P Viswanathan, another seasoned politician elected from the Melur constituency in Madurai, is the second Congress leader who joined the Vijay-led cabinet on Thursday. Viswanathan, 61, is a post graduate and is also a practicing advocate. He has held various responsibilities in the Congress and had also been elected as an MP from Kancheepuram constituency in 2009. He is also the All India Congress committee in charge for Telangana.
He secured 60,080 votes in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections defeating TVK candidate A Maduraiveeran by a margin of 2,724 votes.
