Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay expanded his cabinet with 23 new ministers
May 21, 2026: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday expanded his TVK-led cabinet nearly two weeks after forming the government. A total of 23 new ministers were sworn in at Lok Bhavan in a ceremony administered by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. With the latest expansion, the strength of the Vijay cabinet has increased to 33 ministers out of the total permitted strength of 35. Several TVK legislators, including Srinath, Kamali S, C Vijayalakshmi and R V Ranjithkumar, were among those inducted into the council of ministers.
The cabinet expansion gained additional political significance with the inclusion of two Congress MLAs — S Rajesh Kumar from Killiyoor and P Viswanathan from Melur. This marks the Congress party’s return to the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a gap of 59 years. Congress leader KC Venugopal described the development as a “historic occasion” and extended his wishes to the newly inducted ministers. Out of the 23 new ministers, 21 belong to Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam while two are from Congress.
Rajesh Kumar, a three-time MLA from Kanyakumari district, and senior Congress leader P Viswanathan, a former MP and practicing advocate, officially joined the Vijay-led government during the swearing-in ceremony. Vijay, along with nine ministers, had earlier taken oath on May 10 in Chennai after TVK emerged victorious in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and secured support from smaller parties to form the government.