TVK moves ahead with coalition Cabinet expansion, AIADMK rebels left waiting

The shift marks a significant recalibration inside the fledgling administration after days of anxiety among Vijay’s allies over speculation that the AIADMK rebel faction led by former ministers S P Velumani and C Ve Shanmugham could be rewarded with Cabinet berths.

Instead, the TVK leadership now appears to have concluded that accommodating the rebels would cost more than the numerical stability they might provide. Tamil Nadu minister Aadhav Arjuna, one of Vijay’s key political negotiators, publicly signalled the new direction on Wednesday.

“CM wants the Cabinet to function like one family,” Arjuna said. “He wants the parties that extended support to be represented in the Cabinet.”

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal confirmed that party president Mallikarjun Kharge had approved the induction of Congress legislators S Rajesh Kumar and P Vishwanathan into the ministry. “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 Left parties, however, are expected to continue supporting the government from outside.

Behind the scenes, the Cabinet expansion reflects the growing influence of the CPI(M), CPI and VCK in shaping the ideological boundaries of Vijay’s young administration.

On Tuesday, CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam had openly warned that the party would reconsider its support if the AIADMK rebels were inducted into the Cabinet. The Left argued that their support to TVK was intended to prevent “backdoor BJP rule” and ensure governance by the single largest party elected by the people, not to facilitate the entry of legislators associated with a BJP-aligned opposition formation.

The pressure appears to have worked. Senior TVK leaders privately admitted that concerns over corruption allegations against some rebel AIADMK leaders became a major factor in the rethink.

The TVK had built much of its election campaign around portraying both the DMK and the AIADMK as exhausted, corruption-ridden establishments. Bringing in leaders facing corruption investigations so early in Vijay’s tenure risked damaging the government’s carefully constructed “clean politics” image, party leaders said. Many within the TVK felt that including Velumani, who is perceived as close to sections of the BJP leadership, would send the wrong signal.

Another concern inside the party was the growing accusation from opposition parties that TVK itself had begun engaging in horse-trading politics within days of assuming office. The first indication that the rebels’ leverage was weakening emerged shortly after the trust vote itself, when Velumani and Shanmugham publicly reaffirmed that Edappadi K Palaniswami or EPS remained their party’s general secretary and that they were not challenging his leadership directly.

Arjuna on Wednesday attempted to frame the rebels less as defectors seeking power and more as AIADMK loyalists upset over what they viewed as Palaniswami’s willingness to explore post-poll cooperation with the DMK.

“When the rebel AIADMK legislators met us, they said they wanted to fulfil the dreams of MGR and Jayalalithaa and save the party,” he said. He simultaneously revived TVK’s criticism of both Dravidian majors, accusing the DMK and AIADMK of abandoning their ideological positions after the election in an attempt to prevent Vijay from assuming power. “People voted for change after nearly 50 years,” Arjuna said. “But both parties underestimated TVK.”

The strongest sign yet of where the coalition may be headed came from VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan himself. After days of hesitation earlier this month during the government-formation crisis, the VCK leader acknowledged on Wednesday that TVK had privately assured allies that the AIADMK rebels would not be accommodated in the Cabinet.

“I will discuss this with frontline leaders and take a decision,” he said after receiving the formal invitation. Within the VCK, senior leaders are increasingly pushing for participation in government, arguing that after decades of protest politics and outside support arrangements, the party now has an opportunity to exercise direct administrative power.

For Vijay, a senior TVK leader said, the calculation is becoming clearer. “A broad secular coalition may be politically safer than a numerically tempting but ideologically volatile alliance with rebels from a collapsing AIADMK,” he said.