Tamil Nadu Expands Cabinet with Two New Ministers Approved by Governor

Chennai, May 22: The Tamil Nadu government has initiated the process of expanding its cabinet. The Chief Minister has recommended the inclusion of two legislators in the council of ministers, a proposal that has received approval from the Governor.

According to a press release issued from the Public Building of Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister has suggested the inclusion of A.M. Shahjahan, elected from the Papanasam assembly constituency, and Vanni Arasu, elected from the Thindivanam assembly constituency, into the cabinet. The Governor has granted approval for this recommendation.

This cabinet expansion is seen as a strategy to create regional balance within the ruling party and to provide opportunities for new faces. A.M. Shahjahan hails from Papanasam, a significant area in southern Tamil Nadu, while Vanni Arasu represents the northeastern part of the state. The inclusion of both legislators is expected to strengthen regional representation in the cabinet.

Earlier, on Thursday, 23 new ministers were inducted into the cabinet, and the Governor approved the allocation of departments. Among them, Srinath has been assigned fisheries, Kamali S. has taken on animal husbandry, C. Vijayalakshmi has been given dairy development, and R.V. Ranjit Kumar is responsible for the forest department. Vinod has been entrusted with agriculture and farmer welfare, while Rajiv oversees the environment and climate change department.

Other ministers include B. Rajkumar for housing and urban development, V. Gandhiraj for cooperation, Mathan Raja P. for micro, small, and medium enterprises, Jagadishwari K. for social welfare and women’s empowerment, and Rajesh Kumar S. for tourism.

Additionally, M. Vijay Balaji has been assigned handlooms and textiles, Logesh Tamilselvan D. for commercial tax and registration, Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A. for transport, and Ramesh for the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department.

The higher education department has been allocated to P. Vishwanathan, while Kumar R. will lead the newly formed artificial intelligence, information technology, and digital services department. Thenarasu K. has been given responsibility for non-resident Tamil welfare, V. Sampath Kumar for backward class welfare, Mohammad Farwas for labor welfare and skill development, and D. Sarathkumar for human resource management. The finance, planning, and development department has been assigned to N. Mary Wilson, while Vignesh K. is responsible for prohibition and excise.

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