Congress to join Tamil Nadu Cabinet

The Congress has said that two of its MLAs will be sworn into the Tamil Nadu Cabinet led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government on Thursday. This is the first time in 59 years that the party will be part of the state Cabinet.

On Wednesday, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge had approved the induction of MLAs S Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan into the Council of Ministers.

“This is a historic occasion for us, as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years!” Venugopal said on social media. “…we are confident that they will deliver on the hopes and aspirations of the people of Tamil Nadu, and will work to realise the bold vision of welfare and pro-people governance laid down by LOP [Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha] Rahul Gandhi.”

Chief Minister Vijay is set to expand his 10-member Cabinet on Thursday. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to over 20 new ministers at 10 am in Lok Bhavan.

The TVK, on its electoral debut, had emerged as the single-largest party on May 4 in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Vijay’s party won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, falling short of the majority...

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