Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhawan in Chennai on Friday.
After a gap of 10 years, the DMK with Stalin at the helm came back to power for a sixth time in its history by winning the 2021 Assembly elections securing a comfortable majority on its own.
The 68-year-old Stalin wearing a white shirt and dhoti came to Raj Bhavan at about 9 a.m.
DMK had won 133 seats in the recently held assembly elections in the state. The party contested the polls in alliance with some other regional parties and Congress.
Along with Stalin, 33 other ministers from his party also took the oath, which includes 19 former ministers and 15 new faces. There are two women in Stalin’s cabinet.
As per the list released by the DMK on Thursday, party president MK Stalin will hold several key portfolios, including the crucial home department, while others include the welfare of specially-abled persons, public, general administration, and appointment and transfer of IAS and IPS officers in the state.
Interestingly, Stalin will be accompanied by 'Gandhi' and 'Nehru' in the Tamil Nadu cabinet. Clearing the curiosity, N. Nehru was named Minister of Civil Administration, while R.K. Gandhi's name has been proposed as Handloom and Textiles, Khadi and Rural Industry Board in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet.
The Chief Minister's son Udhayanidhi Stalin who has won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency is not included in the Cabinet.
Stalin's wife Durga, son Udhayanidhi and other family members, former Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK Coordinator O.Panneerselvam, leaders of Congress and other parties were present at the swearing-in ceremony.
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K. N. Nehru is an old and faithful leader of the DMK party. Nehru, who won the election for the first time in 1989, had contested from the Tiruchi West seat continuously. His father named him after the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. R. Gandhi has been elected as an MLA from the Ranipet seat. He came for the first time in 1996 by winning the election.