Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President MK Stalin was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Friday, ANI reported. The oath was administered by Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
After assuming office, Stalin announced a pandemic time relief of Rs 2,000 for residents in the state, reported PTI. He also announced a government insurance scheme and reduced the rates of Aavin milk products. The chief minister also announced free travel for women in state-run buses from Saturday.
The DMK-led coalition won 159 seats in the 234-member Assembly. Stalin’s party alone managed to secure victory in 133 constituencies. The Congress won 18 seats, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi got four, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won two each.
Apart from being the chief minister, Stalin will also hold the portfolios for home, public and general administration, all India services, district revenue officers, special programme implementation and welfare of differently-abled persons, a release from the governor’s office said.
A total of 34 ministers, including Stalin, took oath to form the new Cabinet in Tamil Nadu. DMK veterans Duraimurugan (water resources), KN Nehru (municipal administration), I Periyasamy (co-operation), K Ponmudi (higher education) and E V Velu (public works department) are among the senior Cabinet members who will be sworn in. KKSSR Ramachandran, another veteran and former minister, was sworn in as the revenue minister.
Palanivel Thiagarajan, a former investment banker, has been allocated finance and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi got the school education department. Former Chennai Mayor Ma Subramanian and party’s north Chennai strongman, PK Sekarbabu, are among those who would be first-time ministers.
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