Days after its first portfolio allocation, the Tamil Nadu government inducted 23 more newly elected MLAs into the State Cabinet on Thursday, after Governor Arlekar approved the appointments ahead of the swearing-in ceremony that took place at Lok Bhavan in Chennai.
The expansion marked the second major addition to the newly formed Vijay-led TVK government and return of the Congress to the southern state's governance after nearly six decades.
Out of the 23 MLAs, two - Rajesh Kumar from Killiyoor, who was given the Tourism portfolio, and P Viswanathan from Melur, who given charge of Higher Education - are from the grand old party,
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Among those others inducted were Srinath from Thoothukudi, Kamal from Avinashi, C Vijayalakshmi from Kumarapalayam, RV Ranjithkumar from Kancheepuram and Vinoth from Kumbakonam. Rajeev from Thiruvadanai, B Rajkumar from Cuddalore and V Gandhiraj from Arakkonam also figured in the list.
The new Council of Ministers additionally included Mathan Raja from Ottapidaram, K Jegadeshwar from Rajapalayam, and M Vijay Bala from Erode East. MLAs Logesh Tamilselvan D from Rasipuram and Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A from Salem South were also among the appointees.
Also Read | Tamil Nadu CM Vijay reviews departments; White Paper to be released soon
Ramesh from Srirangam, Kumar R from Velachery and K Thennarasu from Sriperumbudur took oath alongside V Sampath Kumar from Coimbatore North and Mohamed Farvas from Aranthangi who was alloted the Labour Welfare and Skill Development portfolio.
The remaining inductees were D Sarathkumar from Tambaram, N Marie Wilson from Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar was made charge of the Finance, Planning and Development ministries, and Vignesh K from Kinathukadavu.
Portfolio allocation
The Cabinet expansion comes close on the heels of the government’s portfolio allocation exercise earlier this week, some of which were reshuffled by the newly appointed actor-turned-CM on Thursday.
According to an official statement issued from Lok Bhavan, Chief Minister Vijay retained several core departments including Home, Public, General Administration, Police, Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply, and Special Programme Implementation. He was additionally allocated the Poverty Alleviation portfolio.
Meanwhile, the Women Welfare portfolio earlier held by the Chief Minister was reallocated to Minister Jegadeshwari.
He will also oversee departments related to children, senior citizens and differently abled persons, besides services concerning IAS, IPS, IFS and District Revenue officers.
N Anand was entrusted with Rural Development and Water Resources, while Aadhav Arjuna will handle Public Works and Sports Development. Dr K G Arunraj was assigned Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, and senior leader K A Sengottaiyan, who earlier had the Finance portfolio, was moved to Revenue and Disaster Management.
P Venkataramanan was allocated Food and Civil Supplies, while R Nirmalkumar will oversee Energy Resources and Law. Rajmohan, meanwhile, was made charge of School Education, Tamil Development, Information and Publicity, while Dr T K Prabhu will manage Natural Resources. Industries has been allotted to Selvi S Keerthana.
The party emerged as the single largest formation in the Assembly elections with 108 seats and later secured support from Congress, VCK, Left parties and the IUML to form the government, ending the long-standing dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in the State.
Full list of portfolios allocated so far
Chief Minister
-
C Joseph Vijay
Public, General Administration, IAS, IPS, IFS, District Revenue Officers
- Police, Home, Special Programme Implementation, Special Initiatives
- Poverty Alleviation and Rural Indebtedness
- Youth Welfare, Welfare of Children, Aged and Differently Abled Persons
- Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply
Ministers & Portfolios
-
N Anand
– Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources
- Rural Development, Panchayats and Panchayat Union
- Irrigation and Irrigation Projects including Small Irrigation
- Aadhav Arjuna – Minister for Public Works and Sports Development
- K.G. Arunraj – Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare
- P. Venkataramanan – Minister for Food and Civil Supplies
- S Keerthana – Minister for Industries
-
R Nirmalkumar
– Minister for Energy Resources and Law
- Electricity & Non-Conventional Energy Development
- Law, Courts, Prisons and Prevention of Corruption
- Governor, Elections and Passports
-
K.A. Sengottaiyan
– Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management
- Revenue, District Revenue Establishment, Deputy Collectors
- Disaster Management, Bhoodan, Gramadhan and Legislative Assembly
- Srinath – Minister for Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare
- Kamali S – Minister for Animal Husbandry
- C Vijayalakshmi – Minister for Milk and Dairy Development
- R.V. Ranjithkumar – Minister for Forests
-
Vinoth
– Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Agro Service Co-operatives
- Horticulture, Sugar, Sugarcane Excise, Sugarcane Development
- Waste Land Development
- Rajeev – Minister for Environment and Climate Change
- B Rajkumar – Minister for Housing and Urban Development
- V Gandhiraj – Minister for Cooperation
- Mathan Raja P – Minister for MSMEs
-
Jegadeshwari K
– Minister for Social Welfare and Women Empowerment
- Women Welfare, Orphanages and Correctional Administration
- Beggar Homes, Social Reforms and Nutritious Meal Programme
- Rajesh Kumar S – Minister for Tourism
- M Vijay Balaji – Minister for Handlooms, Textiles and Khadi
- Logesh Tamilselvan D – Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration
- Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A – Minister for Transport
- Ramesh – Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
- Rajmohan – Minister for School Education, Tamil Development, Information and Publicity
- P Viswanathan – Minister for Higher Education
- Dr T.K. Prabhu – Minister for Natural Resources
- Kumar R – Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Digital Services
- Thennarasu K – Minister for Non-Resident Tamils Welfare
- V Sampath Kumar – Minister for Backward Classes Welfare
- Mohamed Farvas J – Minister for Labour Welfare and Skill Development
- D Sarathkumar – Minister for Human Resources Management
- N Marie Wilson – Minister for Finance, Planning and Development
- Vignesh K – Minister for Prohibition and Excise
Pending Allocations
- Minorities Welfare Department: Likely to go to an IUML nominee.
- Adi Dravidar Welfare Department: Likely to go to a VCK nominee when they join the government.
