Two Congress MLAs to join Vijay’s Tamil Nadu cabinet today

way2barak, May 21: The Congress party is set to join the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government on Thursday, marking the first time it will be part of an alliance in the southern state in 59 years.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved the induction of MLAs Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government and will take oath as ministers on Thursday, KC Venugopal, the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary said on social media on Wednesday.

“This is a historic occasion for us, as the Congress joins the Tamil Nadu cabinet after a long gap of 59 years,” Venugopal said.

The Congress is also negotiating with chief minister Vijay for a Rajya Sabha berth from Tamil Nadu with CV Shanmugam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP, set to retire from the Upper House in June. In the biennial election, the ruling dispensation in the state is set to win that seat.

“We are negotiating with TVK to give us the Rajya Sabha berth. A Tamil functionary, who played a key role in bringing the Congress closer to the TVK and break the alliance with DMK, is considered as a frontrunner for the berth,” said a Congress leader aware of the negotiations.

The Congress with five MLAs in the Tamil Nadu assembly, was among the first parties to back Vijay’s TVK, after the latter fell short of a majority in the 234-member assembly, winning 108 seats.