With focus on his assurance that women “will certainly” have a place in his cabinet, Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar is headed for Delhi for meetings with the Congress leadership. The assurance gained significance after a sharp exchange between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Kiren Rijiju of the BJP over women's representation.
Shivakumar is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Sunday evening and is expected to meet Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and other senior leaders over Sunday and Monday, reports said. The discussions are reportedly expected to cover allocation of portfolios to the 19 ministers inducted earlier this month — two months after DKS, 64, became CM in place of veteran leader Siddaramaiah, 79 — plus pending changes in the ministry, including the possibility of inducting a woman.
Shivakumar took over as CM in June after the Congress high command agreed to the change of leader. His initial council of ministers was formed with 14 ministers, before the expansion of August 3, when 19 more took oath. The expansion took the ministry's strength to 33, including Shivakumar, against the constitutional ceiling of 34. One berth therefore remains vacant — and that is now the slot that could go to a woman amid a wider debate on gender representation.
Rahul-Rijiju exchange on woman representation
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had, on Friday, while arguing that the Women's Reservation Act of 2023 be implemented without being linked to delimitation, said, “The energy of India’s women is trapped, is not allowed to express itself, is not allowed to imagine.” He had argued in response to an ask-me-anything session on social media: “For me, no country can be successful if the women in the country are not expressing themselves… Our country is stunted and incomplete without the expression of our women.”
{{/usCountry}}Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had, on Friday, while arguing that the Women's Reservation Act of 2023 be implemented without being linked to delimitation, said, “The energy of India’s women is trapped, is not allowed to express itself, is not allowed to imagine.” He had argued in response to an ask-me-anything session on social media: “For me, no country can be successful if the women in the country are not expressing themselves… Our country is stunted and incomplete without the expression of our women.”
{{/usCountry}}Minister Rijiju had hit back, remarking there was a “visible change of heart” in Gandhi's position and urging the Congress to support women's reservation “unconditionally”.
Gandhi responded that Congress had already supported the law, which was passed unanimously in 2023, and said the party had a problem only with its being linked to delimitation, that is, a change in number and boundaries of the constituencies. “Implement the 2023 law. Without any conditions,” Gandhi said.
It was then that Rijiju turned the argument towards Karnataka. “There's no woman in Karnataka DK Shivakumar's Cabinet! This raises serious questions over Congress's stand on the 33% Women quota,” the minister posted on X.
Rahul Gandhi did not react specifically to that.
What DKS said
However, Shivakumar responded by saying Congress had itself piloted and passed the women's reservation law. “So, in Karnataka, definitely we are sorting out that issue. Rijiju may not worry about the Congress party,” the CM said in Bengaluru on Saturday. In PM Narendra Modi's central government, seven of the 71 ministers are women.
A day later, DKS gave an even clearer indication that the omission could soon be corrected. “There will certainly be a place for a woman in our cabinet. We are committed to giving greater representation to women,” Shivakumar said.
Who may get berth
The assurance came as 19 ministers were sworn in on August 3, with no woman among them. The absence drew immediate criticism from the BJP as well as sections of the Congress, particularly given the party's emphasis on women's political representation.
The next question is, who could get the berth. One name that has gained prominence is Gayathri Shantegowda, a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council. She was excluded from the list at the last minute for the August 3 swearing-in, TOI had reported citing unnamed sources.
Former minister Laxmi Hebbalkar is considered another prominent possibility. The Belagavi Rural MLA was the lone woman minister in Siddaramaiah's previous government.
Roopakala Shashidhar, the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) MLA, and Kaneez Fatima, the Gulbarga North MLA, are among the names that have repeatedly figured in reports on possible women inductees. MLC Arathi Krishna is seen as another contender, as per The New Indian Express.
The choice, though, depended not only on gender representation but also on calculations over region, caste and political factions. Shivakumar's Delhi meetings are expected to address these concerns at large too.
The Karnataka legislature's monsoon session begins on August 13.