Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief C. Joseph Vijay is set to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at 10 a.m. on Sunday. He is likely to keep important portfolios such as Home, Police, and Public Administration in the new government, as per party sources. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar invited Vijay to form the government upon proving majority support in the 234-member Assembly.
Nine Ministers are expected to take oath alongside Vijay in the initial phase of Cabinet formation in Tamil Nadu. A tentative list of Ministers and portfolios has surfaced before the swearing-in ceremony. Senior leader K.A. Sengottaiyan is anticipated to manage the Public Works Department (PWD), while N. Anand may handle the Municipal Administration portfolio. C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar is likely to head the Electricity Department.
Aadhav Arjuna is poised to oversee the Sports Development portfolio, with Raj Mohan expected to be the Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare Department. V.N.S. Mustafa is anticipated to look after Minority Welfare in the new Cabinet. P. Venkataramanan may be assigned the School Education portfolio, and Arun Raj could oversee Commercial Taxes and Registration.
The Congress, which supported Vijay’s formation post the Assembly elections, is also expected to have representation in the Cabinet. Congress leaders Rajesh Kumar and Viswanathan are likely to be inducted as Cabinet Ministers. Despite being the largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, TVK did not reach the majority mark on its own. Vijay garnered support from Congress, CPI, CPI-M, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), bringing the alliance tally to 120 MLAs, comfortably surpassing the majority mark of 118.
Observers interpret Vijay’s decision to retain the Home and Public Administration departments as a move to directly oversee governance and law-and-order management at the start of his administration.
