The induction marks Congress’s return to government in Tamil Nadu after nearly six decades, ending a political absence that began after the 1967 Assembly elections.
BY PC Bureau
May 21, 2026: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay on Wednesday carried out a major expansion of his government, inducting 23 MLAs into the Council of Ministers and taking the strength of the Cabinet to 32. The expansion included 21 legislators from the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and two from ally Indian National Congress, marking Congress’s return to power in Tamil Nadu after nearly six decades.
However, key allies — the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) — were not included in the latest round of inductions.
Sources said the IUML and VCK have each been offered one Cabinet berth but are yet to finalise their nominees. Both parties are expected to join the ministry at a later stage.
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The expansion takes the strength of the Vijay government to 32 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Vijay had earlier taken oath along with nine ministers on May 10. Under constitutional provisions, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet can have a maximum of 35 ministers, leaving three vacancies that could potentially be allocated to allies such as the VCK and IUML.
The TVK leadership has continued efforts to persuade allies currently offering outside support — including the VCK, CPI, CPM, and IUML — to formally join the coalition government. Tamil Nadu Public Works and Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna recently stated that Vijay wanted VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan and other allies to become part of the Cabinet.
HISTORIC DAY 🔥🔥AFTER 59 YEARS
Congress leader going to take oath as Minister in Tamil NADU 🔥
it’s Finally Congress is back after decades 🔥🔥♥️
Cong MLA Rajesh Kumar Cabinet minister. pic.twitter.com/xL5COtRMh4
— Ashish Singh (@AshishSinghKiJi) May 21, 2026
Among those sworn in were 21 TVK MLAs, including Srinath, Kamali S, C Vijayalakshmi, RV Ranjithkumar, Vinoth, Rajeev, B Rajkumar, V Gandhiraj, Mathan Raja P, Jegadeshwari K, Rajesh Kumar S, M Vijay Balaji, Logesh Tamilselvan D, Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A, Ramesh, P Viswanathan, Kumar R, Thennarasu K, V Sampath Kumar, Mohamed Farvas J, D Sarathkumar, N Marie Wilson, and Vignesh K.
The two Congress legislators inducted into the ministry are Rajesh Kumar and Thiru P. Vishwanathan. Their inclusion marks the Congress party’s return to government in Tamil Nadu after nearly six decades.
The last Congress government in the state was led by former Chief Minister M. Bhaktavatsalam, whose tenure ended in March 1967. In the landmark 1967 Assembly elections, the Congress was defeated by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam under C. N. Annadurai, ending Congress dominance in the state. Since then, the party had remained outside the government until joining the Vijay-led administration now.
