Tamil Nadu: Shahjahan, Vanni Arasu sworn in as ministers in Vijay cabinet

THe young Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) storage locker, headed by chief government minister C chief joseph Vijay, has octonary ministers from the scheduled caste (SC) community, marking their largest representation in the state’s council of ministers.On Friday, two MLAs from the SC community, AM Shahjahan, the Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) MLA from Papanasam, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary and Tindivanam lawmaker, Vanni Arasu, were inducted into the council of ministers, bringing the total to eight.One ministerial berth has been given to the scheduled tribe, taking the total reserved berths in the council to nine.The previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) cabinet, led by MK Stalin, had four ministers from the SC community.A total of 46 of Tamil Nadu’s 234 seats are reserved. The winning party, TVK’s, candidates won in 24 of these reserved seats. The remaining 22 were split between the DMK-led alliance partners, which won in 13, and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) winning in nine assembly segments.Prominent among the SC ministers are Kamali, 28, Logesh Tamilselvan, 42, V Gandhiraj 52, Aadhav Arjuna, 42, and K Jegatheeshwari, 40.The two Brahmins in the cabinet are TVK’s treasurer, P Venkataramanan, a chartered accountant by training, and Ramesh Srinivasan from the Srirangam assembly constituency.The Vijay-led cabinet council has two Muslim ministers: Shahjahan and J Mohamed Parvas.With the induction of the IUML and VCK MLAs, Vijay’s cabinet now comprises 35 ministers. It was the second expansion of Vijay’s government in two days. On Thursday, two Congress legislators were among 23 ministers inducted into the council, making the party part of the government in the southern state for the first time in 59 years. The Congress lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967.“The government has been formed with the help of IUML, VCK and the Congress. Naturally, they need to include ministers from different religions, caste and (ensure) there is social representation. It is a positive sign,” political analyst, P Sakthivel said.Sakthivel said that TVK wants to convey to the opposition and the public that the government will work for the downtrodden, the marginalised as well as the middle class.“The TVK cannot run the government with the Ministers only hailing from Chennai. So, they also drew ministers from the south and from the Kongu belt where they won a significant number of seats,” he added.Academic and professional qualificationsAmong the new ministers, three are doctors, two are engineers and four are lawyers.As many as 18 ministers are graduates, and six are post-graduates. Among the ministers with high academic qualifications are Radhakrishnan Nagar MLA and minister, Marie Wilson who is also the finance minister. He has a PhD in management science from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad.Karaikudi MLA and minister TK Prabhu is a Germany-trained dental surgeon. KG Arunraaj, minister for health, medical education and family welfare, is a general physician and a former civil servant.“In Tamil Nadu, we have had doctors in previous governments as well. The TVK is trying to convey (by including educated persons in the cabinet) that the council of ministers have sound education background,” Sakthivel said.