The long tussle for power in the state has come to an end after the VK Sasikala faction defeated the O Pannerselvam camp and with that, E Palaniswami swore in as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on February 16. Along with Palaniswami, 30 other AIADMK leaders took oath as ministers in the state cabinet.
Palaniswami was initially appointed as the AIADMK general secretary by Sasikala when she was ordered by the Supreme Court to surrender after she was convicted in the disproportionate assets case. He was also backed by 124 MLAs which further garnered the required strength within the party to form a new government, thereby leading to O Pannerselvam’s exit from the race of the prime ruler of the state.
Earlier this day, Thiru E Palaniswami met Governor Vidyasagar Rao and handed over the list of 31 ministers who have now become the part of Tamil Nadu state cabinet holding various portfolios. In return, the honourable Governor approved the list and all the ministers including Palaniswami, who swore in later in the afternoon.
Here is the list and portfolio of the ministers included in the state cabinet:
| Sl. no. | Minster’s Name | Minister’s Designation |
| 1 | K Palaniswami | Chief Minister |
| 2 | C Sreenivasan | Minister of Forests |
| 3 | KA Sengottaiyan | Minister for School Education & Sports and Youth Welfare |
| 4 | K Raju | Minister for Cooperation |
| 5 | P Thangamani | Ministry for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise |
| 6 | SP Velumani | Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development, Implementation of Special Programme |
| 7 | D Jayakumar | Minister for Fisheries |
| 8 | CV Shanmugam | Minister for Law, Courts and Prisons |
| 9 | KP Anbalagan | Minister for Higher Education |
| 10 | P Benjamin | Minister for Rural Industries |
| 11 | Dr Nilofer Kafeel | Minister for Labour |
| 12 | MR Vijayabaskar | Minister for Transport |
| 13 | M Manikandan | Minister for Information Technology |
| 14 | VM Rajalakshmi | Minister for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare |
| 15 | G Baskaran | Minister for Khadi and Village Industries Board |
| 16 | S Ramachandran | Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments |
| 17 | S Valarmathi | Minister for Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare |
| 18 | P Balakrishna Reddy | Minister for Animal Husbandry |
| 19 | V Saroja | Minister for Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme |
| 20 | MC Sampath | Minister for Industries |
| 21 | KC Karuppanan | Minister for Environment |
| 22 | R Kamaraj | Minister for Food & Civil Supplies |
| 23 | OS Manjan | Minister for Handlooms and Textiles |
| 24 | K Radhakrishnan | Minister for Housing and Urban Development |
| 25 | Dr C Vijaya Baskar | Minister for Health and Family Welfare |
| 26 | R Doraikkantu | Minister for Agriculture |
| 27 | Kadambur Raju | Minister for Information and Publicity |
| 28 | RB Udhaykumar | Minister for Revenue |
| 29 | N Natarajan | Minister for Tourism |
| 30 | KC Veeramani | Minister for Commercial Taxes |
| 31 | KT Rajenthra Bhalaji | Minister for Milk and Dairy Development |
Further, Palaniswami has been given a time of 15 days to prove majority. Following the development, AIADMK MLAs left Golden Bay resort in Kovathur for Raj Bhavan in Chennai to attend the oath taking ceremony. Hailing from state’s western Kongu belt, Palaniswami is considered a popular name in his gounder community.
