Vijay cabinet: Sengottaiyan gets revenue, Marie Wilson gets finance, S Ramesh gets HR&CE

Vijay himself has taken on more portfolios - Special Initiatives and Poverty Alleviation and Rural Indebtedness to his already extensive charge (Public, General Administration, IAS/IPS/IFS, Police, Home, Special Programme Implementation, Women & Child Welfare, Youth Welfare, Differently Abled, Municipal Administration, Urban & Water Supply). He has also started a new AI Ministry, with Kumar R, MLA from Chennai's Velachery constituency, given the portfolio.

'Bussy' N Anand, who earlier held Poverty Alleviation and Rural Indebtedness, now retains Rural Development, Panchayats, and Irrigation.

Veteran leader KA Sengottaiyan, MLA from Gobichettipalayam and a former AIADMK man, moves from Finance to Revenue and Disaster Management.

His new portfolios include Revenue, District Revenue Establishment, Deputy Collectors, Disaster Management, Bhoodhan & Gramadhan, and Legislative Assembly.

This is viewed as a strategic placement leveraging his decades of grassroots experience, assembly management skills, and influence in the Kongu region. Revenue is a high-stakes department; the addition of Legislative Assembly gives him a key role in floor management.

Newly-elected TVK MLA N Marie Wilson from the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai has been given the powerful Ministry of Finance, Planning and Development (Finance, Pensions, Planning & Development).

S Ramesh, 31-year-old TVK MLA from Srirangam and former state-level spokesperson/media coordinator of the TVK, has been appointed Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE).

Ramesh, who belongs to the Brahmin community, contested and won from the temple town of Srirangam. TVK notably fielded Brahmin candidates in the 2026 elections (including Ramesh in Srirangam and P Venkataramanan in Mylapore) at a time when the Dravidian majors avoided doing so. This portfolio was previously held by PK Sekar Babu in the previous DMK government.

HR&CE is one of the most sensitive departments since it manages thousands of temples, vast landed properties, funds and priest appointments.

In Tamil Nadu’s political history, temple administration has been intertwined with social justice debates, including the push for non-Brahmin priests. Entrusting it to a young Brahmin MLA from Srirangam is raising eyebrows. It may be read as an outreach to the Brahmin community or a signal of a different approach to temple governance. However, it also invites scrutiny over Ramesh’s relatively young age and media background versus the administrative complexities of the department.

Temple activists and various stakeholders will watch closely for transparency, property protection, and heritage preservation. Protest campaigns have already appeared on social media regarding the appointment.

Here is the complete list of ministers with constituency and portfolio:

Srinath (Thoothukudi) — Minister for Fisheries – Fishermen Welfare (Fisheries & Fisheries Development Corporation)

Vinoth (Kumbakonam) — Minister for Agriculture – Farmers Welfare (Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Agro Service Co-operatives, Horticulture, Sugar, Sugarcane Development & Waste Land Development)

Kamali S (Avinashi) — Minister for Animal Husbandry

C Vijayalakshmi (Kumarapalayam) — Minister for Milk and Dairy Development

RV Ranjithkumar (Kancheepuram) — Minister for Forests

Jegadeshwari K (Rajapalayam) — Minister for Social Welfare & Women Empowerment (Social Welfare including Women Welfare, Orphanages, Correctional Administration, Beggar Homes, Social Reforms & Nutritious Meal Programme)

V Sampath Kumar (Coimbatore North) — Minister for Backward Classes Welfare (Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes & De-notified Communities Welfare)

D Sarathkumar (Tambaram) — Minister for Human Resources Management (Human Resources Management & Ex-Servicemen Welfare)

Mohamed Farvas J (Aranthangi) — Minister for Labour Welfare and Skill Development (Labour Welfare, Population, Employment & Training, Census, Weights & Measures, Urban & Rural Employment, Bonded Labour Welfare)

B Rajkumar (Cuddalore) — Minister for Housing and Urban Development (Housing, Rural Housing, Town Planning, CMDA, Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, etc.)

V Gandhiraj (Arakkonam) — Minister for Co-operation

Kumar R (Velachery) — Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology & Digital Services

Rajeev (Thiruvadanai) — Minister for Environment & Climate Change (Environment, Pollution Control Board, Climate Change)

Thennarasu K (Sriperumbudur) — Minister for Non-Resident Tamils Welfare (Non-Resident Tamils Welfare, Refugees & Evacuees)

Logesh Tamilselvan D (Rasipuram) — Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration

Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A (Salem South) — Minister for Transport

Rajesh Kumar S (Killiyoor) — Minister for Tourism (Tourism & Tourism Development Corporation)

M Vijay Balaji (Erode East) — Minister for Handlooms, Textiles and Khadi

Vignesh K (Kinathukadavu) — Minister for Prohibition and Excise

P Viswanathan (Melur) — Minister for Higher Education (Higher Education including Technical Education, Electronics, Science and Technology)

Ramesh (Srirangam) — Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (as detailed above)

Several new ministers are first-time MLAs or relatively young. While this brings fresh energy and loyalty to the new party, it raises questions about administrative experience in some complex ministries.