When Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar expanded his Cabinet on Monday (August 3), expectations centred on how the Congress would balance caste equations, regional representation and internal factional interests. Instead, the biggest talking point was the complete absence of women in the 33-member Council of Ministers.
The development has drawn attention because the Congress has relied heavily on women-focused welfare schemes such as Gruha Lakshmi and Shakti to build its electoral support in Karnataka. The formation of an all-male cabinet has now put the party on the defensive.
The decision has also provided the BJP with fresh political ammunition, especially as the NDA government at the Centre continues to highlight its commitment to women's political representation through the Women's Reservation law.
Woman MLC dropped from Cabinet at the last minute
The Congress high command had approved a list of 20 names for the first expansion of the Shivakumar government. However, only 19 ministers were eventually sworn in by Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot.
The most unexpected omission was MLC Gayathri Shanthegowda, the only woman included in the approved list. Although Congress leaders cited "technical issues" for her exclusion, Chief Minister Shivakumar assured that a woman would be inducted into the Cabinet at a later stage.
Another last-minute change saw Bhatkal MLA Mankal S. Vaidya replaced by Davangere North MLA S.S. Mallikarjun, reportedly due to a "typographical error" followed by political adjustments.
As a result, the expanded Cabinet reached the constitutional limit of 33 members, including the Chief Minister, without a single woman minister.
The previous government led by Siddaramaiah had included Lakshmi Hebbalkar as the Women and Child Development Minister. She was also dropped in the latest reshuffle.
Women's representation remains limited
The absence of women in the Cabinet also reflects a broader pattern in Karnataka politics, where both the Congress and the BJP have fielded relatively few women candidates in Assembly elections.
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress gave tickets to 11 women candidates, of whom four—Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Roopakala M., Nayana Motamma and Kaneez Fatima—were elected.
The Karnataka Assembly has a total of 224 seats.
The BJP fielded 12 women candidates in the same election, with Shashikala Annasaheb Jolle, Bhagirathi Murulya and Manjula S. emerging victorious.
The trend has remained largely unchanged over successive elections.
In 2018, the Congress nominated 15 women candidates, with four winning, while the BJP fielded six women, three of whom secured victories.
Even in 2023, women accounted for only around 5-7% of the candidates fielded by the two major parties despite their growing electoral importance.
According to the Axis My India exit poll after the 2023 Assembly election, about 44% of women voters supported the Congress. The Election Commission of India reported that women recorded a voter turnout of 72.7% during the polls.
Despite this, the Karnataka Assembly currently has only 10 women MLAs out of 224 members, its highest number in recent years but still below 5% of the House.
Why Gayathri Shanthegowda's exclusion matters
The controversy extends beyond the issue of gender representation.
Gayathri Shanthegowda was recently elected to the Legislative Council following a prolonged legal battle. She belongs to the Kuruba community, the same community as former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Her expected inclusion was widely viewed as an effort by the Congress leadership to reassure Siddaramaiah's supporters while simultaneously ensuring the Cabinet had at least one woman minister.
Instead, she was dropped at the final stage.
According to local media reports, her exclusion resulted from intense negotiations between factions loyal to Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, as well as competing demands for the limited Cabinet positions.
Reports also suggested that supporters of former minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar had lobbied against replacing her.
The political optics became more significant when Siddaramaiah skipped the swearing-in ceremony, prompting speculation about continuing differences within the Congress.
The reshuffle also triggered dissatisfaction among several party leaders, with some legislators protesting portfolio allocations and others reportedly threatening to resign.
Political embarrassment for the Congress
The controversy comes at a politically sensitive time for the Congress.
During the Special Session of Parliament in April, the BJP-led NDA strongly promoted the Women's Reservation law while pushing its delimitation proposal. The legislation provides for 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures after delimitation is implemented.
Although the timeline for implementation remains uncertain, the BJP has consistently projected itself as supporting greater political representation for women.
Against that backdrop, the Congress is facing criticism over the absence of even a single woman minister in Karnataka despite running flagship welfare schemes aimed at women.
The BJP has already begun drawing comparisons, arguing that while the Congress promotes welfare initiatives for women, political power within the party continues to remain concentrated among male leaders.
The criticism could resonate politically, as women voters have emerged as one of Karnataka's most influential electoral groups in recent elections. The Congress itself has credited beneficiaries of schemes such as Gruha Lakshmi, Shakti and other guarantee programmes for its decisive victory in the 2023 Assembly polls.
