Joseph Vijay on Thursday carried out a major expansion of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet, inducting 23 new ministers into the government just days after assuming office. The expansion has taken the total strength of the ministry to 32, close to the constitutional limit of 35 ministers allowed in the state.

The newly expanded Cabinet includes 21 legislators from the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and two members from the Congress party, marking a significant political development in the state’s coalition dynamics.

Chief Minister Vijay retained some of the most critical portfolios under his direct control, including Home, Police, General Administration, Urban Water Supply, Special Programme Implementation and Youth Welfare. The decision is being viewed as strategically important as law and order and women’s safety had featured prominently in his election campaign.

The reshuffle also brought key changes in the Finance Department. Senior leader K. A. Sengottaiyan was moved from Finance to the Revenue and Disaster Management Ministry, while N. Marie Wilson was handed the Finance, Planning and Development portfolio.

Congress MLAs S. Rajesh Kumar and P. Viswanathan were also inducted into the Cabinet. Rajesh Kumar received the Tourism portfolio, while Viswanathan was assigned Higher Education.

Several first-time ministers were allocated important departments across governance, welfare and infrastructure sectors. Kumar R was entrusted with Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Digital Services, highlighting the government’s focus on technology and digital governance. Rajeev was assigned Environment and Climate Change, while Mohamed Farvas J received Labour Welfare and Skill Development.

Other major allocations included Vinoth as Agriculture Minister, B. Rajkumar handling Housing and Urban Development, Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A taking charge of Transport, and Jegadeshwari K overseeing Social Welfare and Women Empowerment.

The Cabinet expansion is also being seen as an attempt by the Vijay-led administration to balance regional, social and alliance representation while preparing the government for its first full legislative session.

Political observers believe the inclusion of Congress ministers signals a broader effort to strengthen alliance coordination ahead of future national political developments, while retaining crucial portfolios personally indicates Vijay’s intent to maintain direct control over governance and law-and-order issues during the early phase of his tenure.