Two Congress lawmakers were among 23 ministers inducted into Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led council of ministers on Thursday, making the party a part of the government in the southern state for the first time in 59 years. The Congress lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967.Congress lawmakers Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan took oath as ministers. (X)Rajesh Kumar and P Viswanathan took oath as ministers in the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government a day after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge approved their induction. They raised slogans hailing the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha.The Congress is negotiating a Rajya Sabha berth from Tamil Nadu with CV Shanmugam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, set to retire from the Upper House in June. Tamil Nadu’s ruling alliance is set to win that seat.The Congress, which has five lawmakers in the Tamil Nadu assembly, was among the first parties to back TVK (108 seats) when it fell short of a majority in the 234-member assembly. It quit the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance to back the TVK-led grouping.Left parties, the Indian Union Muslim League and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi also backed the TVK as Vijay formed the first coalition government in what is now Tamil Nadu since 1952. TVK’s was the most impressive debut in Tamil Nadu since talisman MG Ramachandran in 1977, as Vijay became the first non-DMK and non-All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief minister since 1967.S Kamali, K Jegadeshwari, and C Vijayalakshmi were among those sworn in on Thursday, taking the number of women ministers in the state to four.The fresh inductions increased the number of ministers in Vijay’s government to 33. It was the first expansion of Vijay’s council of ministers since he was sworn in along with nine others on May 10. Most of the ministers in the government are first-time lawmakers, graduates, and Vijay’s loyalists.