Congress scrambles to make space for a woman in DKS’ all-male Karnataka cabinet as backlash builds

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar’s all-male Cabinet has intensified rumblings in the ruling Congress party, with women leaders publicly criticising the glaring absence of their representation at the state level.

The decision to put Gayathri Shantegowda’s oath-taking on hold, despite her name being on the official list of ministers approved by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), has drawn sharp criticism against the party for neglecting women.

“As a woman, like many people, I am pretty upset as well, considering our party has always been extremely pro-women, and even all the schemes have been focusing on women empowerment. It’s a big concern. Not just the first cabinet, but even the second cabinet, there are no women,” Karnataka Pradesh Mahila Congress president Sowmya Reddy told ThePrint.

Supporters of former minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar continue to protest in Belagavi, demanding a cabinet berth for their leader. There have been similar demands from other women leaders such as Kaneez Fathima, Nayana Motamma, and Annapurna Tukaram.

Though Shivakumar has made it clear that the cabinet vacancy is reserved for a woman minister, the party’s preference for men to take over key posts has brought its commitment to giving fair representation to women into question.

Even in the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2023-26), Lakshmi Hebbalkar was the lone woman minister.

Her alleged proximity to the Shivakumar camp, people aware of the developments say, has become a point of contention as leaders like Siddaramaiah, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the party high command are pushing for their candidates.

While the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his MP sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra advocate for equal representation for women, the Karnataka unit has not lived up to this mandate. As it stands, there are no women in any of the top positions of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

But, the situation is no different in the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) where overall women representation remains in the low single digits. According to PRS legislative analysis, women make up for less than 5 percent of MLAs elected to Karnataka Assembly since 1962.

The Congress party has been trying to find a solution to the deadlock. Sources in the ruling party indicate that veteran Congress leader K.H. Muniyappa may be replaced with his MLA daughter M. Roopkala in the Cabinet.

The suggestion was made as a possible solution not only to finalise the woman candidate but also to free up one more cabinet space to placate disgruntled seniors who were overlooked for a berth, they added.

“Reservation is implemented in local bodies and that’s the reason some of us have been able to even get some preference and a voice. But until reservation is implemented for state and central elections, this will remain the case in all parties,” said another woman Congress leader.

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‘Reservation can solve problem’

In the 2023 Karnataka elections, the Congress fielded 11 women candidates while the BJP had 12. Of these, four from each of the two parties were elected, as well as one from the JD(S) and one Independent. There are just four women MLCs in the Upper House of the state legislature.

That year, the Congress announced its flagship guarantee schemes, including Gruha Lakshmi (Rs 2,000 per month for woman head of household), Gruha Shakthi (free power), Shakthi (free public bus rides for women), Anna Bhagya (free rice scheme), and Yuva Nidhi (financial assistance to job seekers). Data shows that women significantly backed the Congress.

On Tuesday, Naveddu Nilladiddare, a women-focused group, in its open letter to the CM, said that the Cabinet had “entrenched the exclusion of women”. Denying women positions of power, it said, undermines constitutional promises of equal opportunity and reinforces patriarchy.

“An all-male Cabinet is not an oversight. It is a political choice. It sends an unmistakable message that women and women’s leadership remain dispensable when it comes to the exercise of State power,” the letter read.

There are only a handful of women MLAs and each one has their own challenges, author and political analyst Sugata Srinivasaraju told ThePrint, adding that most of them are either dynasts or do not fit into the caste/region equation the party chooses for the Cabinet.

For instance, Lakshmi Hebbalkar’s brother Channaraj Hattiholi is a Congress MLC. Her son Mrunal Hebbalkar unsuccessfully contested the 2024 general elections from Belagavi.

Kaneez Fathim, the MLA from Kalaburagi, is the widow of the prominent late Karnataka politician and former minister Qamar-ul-Islam. Nayana Motamma, a first-time MLA from Mudigere, is the daughter of former minister C. Motamma. Similarly, Annapurna is the wife of Congress MP E. Tukaram.

Lata Mallikarjun, who won as an Independent from Harpanhalli, is the daughter of former deputy CM, late M.P. Prakash. She has offered her support to the Congress party.

Not just Congress

The situation is no better across parties in the country. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) & National Election Watch (NEW), out of the 39,789 candidates who contested in the Lok Sabha and State/UT elections held after the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, only 4,073 or 10.2 percent were women.

The Women’s Reservation Bill sought to reserve one third of all seats for women in state legislative assemblies.

“We are 50 percent of the whole population, we need representation. In that way, there needs to be at least 11 ministers but yes I am just hoping that they will undo this mistake as soon as possible which they said they will,” Reddy said.

Though Shivakumar has said that ‘without women there is no Congress party,’ the absence of one in his cabinet continues to dent the party’s image and the government’s effectiveness.

The CM has spent the better part of this week visiting disgruntled Congress leaders who missed out on cabinet berths. AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, too, visited the homes of H.K. Patil, M. Krishnappa, and Priya Krishna among others to bring the growing anger under control.

Supporters of MLAs from Chikkballapura and Kolar have called for bandhs after their leaders were overlooked for a Cabinet berth. A purported audio recording between former minister R.B. Thimmapur and a local Congress leader, in which there is conversation about the money required to become a minister, has added to challenges for Shivakumar.

To make matters worse, Karnataka is facing a severe drought and floods in several places, intensifying the Cauvery river water dispute with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

(Edited by Tony Rai)

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Also Read: Caste math, bruised egos: Karnataka cabinet expansion compounds challenges for Shivakumar’s nascent govt

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