Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay expanded his cabinet on Thursday with the induction of 23 MLAs into the council of ministers, taking the total strength of his government to 32. According to the Lok Bhavan press release dated May 21, 2026, of the 23 new ministers, 21 belong to his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and two are from ally Congress — marking the national party's return to power in Tamil Nadu after nearly six decades. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar approved the portfolio allocations on the recommendation of the chief minister. Among those inducted are Salem South MLA Tamil Parthiban, Aranthangi MLA J Mohammed Farvas alias Parvez, Coimbatore North MLA V Sampath Kumar, Kancheepuram MLA R V Ranjith Kumar, Tambaram MLA D Sarath Kumar, Tirupur North MLA V Sathyabama and R K Nagar MLA Marie Wilson.
The 21 TVK ministers have been assigned key portfolios including Srinath (Thoothukudi) as Fisheries and Fisheries Development Corporation, Kamali S (Avinashi) as Animal Husbandry, C. Vijayalakshmi (Kumarapalayam) as Milk and Dairy Development, and R.V. Ranjithkumar (Kancheepuram) as Forests. N. Marie Wilson (Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar) from Congress has been allocated Finance, Pensions and Pensionary Benefits, Planning and Development, while Rajesh Kumar S (Killiyoor) will handle Tourism and Tourism Development Corporation and P. Viswanathan (Melur) will oversee Higher Education including Technical Education, Electronics, Science and Technology. Rajesh Kumar S has been specifically allocated the Tourism Ministry, while P. Viswanathan has been given charge of Higher Education.
The last Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was M. Bhaktavatsalam, who concluded his term in March 1967. As reported by NDTV, the 1967 elections saw the DMK under C.N. Annadurai end Congress rule, establishing the Dravidian political order that dominated the state for nearly six decades — until Vijay's TVK broke that duopoly in April 2026. This marks a historic moment for Congress as it returns to power in the state after 59 years. Confirming the decision, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal described the occasion as "historic" and expressed confidence that the new ministers would work towards fulfilling public aspirations while supporting a welfare-oriented administration.
Chief Minister Vijay has retained Home, General Administration, Water Supply, and Youth Welfare portfolios for himself, highlighting his priorities in law and order and women safety. The choice of Home portfolios reflects Vijay's top promises during the campaign and his message to young voters who were instrumental in TVK's stellar electoral show. Marie Wilson has replaced KA Sengottaiyan as Finance Minister, with Sengottaiyan now holding the Revenue and Disaster Management portfolio. KA Sengottaiyan previously held Finance but has been moved to Revenue Minister, while N. Anand's portfolio has been trimmed with Poverty Alleviation and Rural Indebtedness moving to the Chief Minister's office. With 32 ministers now in place and a constitutional ceiling of 35, three berths remain for potential allies.
The government's position in the Assembly strengthened further during the trust vote when 25 AIADMK legislators reportedly backed the ruling coalition, taking its effective strength to 144 members. The Congress currently holds five seats in the Tamil Nadu assembly and emerged as a crucial ally after the recent Assembly elections produced a fractured mandate. Although TVK emerged as the single largest party, it fell short of a majority in the 234-member House by 10 seats. The political equation shifted after Congress, the CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML extended support to the Vijay-led alliance, enabling it to comfortably cross the majority mark required to form the government. Space has been kept for two more allies, the VCK and the IUML, who have till now not confirmed their participation in the government. IUML has called an emergency meeting of its state committee in Chennai under the leadership of its president K M Kader Mohideen to take a decision on joining the cabinet.
