2 Congress MLAs, 21 from CM Vijay's TVK take oath in historic Tamil Nadu cabinet expansion | TN ministers list 2026

Tamil Nadu ministers list 2026: This is the first time in nearly 60 years that Congress is part of Tamil Nadu cabinet.

Updated on: May 21, 2026, 13:56:16 IST

By HT News Desk

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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.

Tamil Nadu chief minister and TVK supremo Vijay (PTI/File)

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. Chief minister Vijay, along with nine other MLAs, had earlier taken oath on May 10 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

“This is a historic occasion for us, as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years,” Venugopal wrote in a post on X on Wednesday as he conveyed his best wishes to the two party leaders joining the cabinet.

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. Rajesh Kumar, 51, is also the former District Congress Committee President of the Kanyakumari west.

In the 2026 assembly elections, he secured 66,434 votes defeating Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate S Sabin by a margin of 1,311 votes.

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. Viswanathan, 61, is a post graduate and is also a practicing advocate. He has held various responsibilities in the Congress and had also been elected as an MP from Kancheepuram constituency in 2009. He is also the All India Congress committee in charge for Telangana.

He secured 60,080 votes in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections defeating TVK candidate A Maduraiveeran by a margin of 2,724 votes.

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