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.
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.
- 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.
