Bengaluru: Although Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has championed equal opportunities for women within the country, his party unit in Karnataka appears to be on a different track altogether.
The DK Shivakumar-led 33-member Karnataka Cabinet has no woman, and neither does the state Congress president BK Hariprasad’s newly nominated list of district presidents in the state, adding to the continued disillusionment of one of its core support bases.
The Karnataka unit of the Congress has justified not including women among its 35 newly nominated district presidents. The list was announced Thursday evening.
“We have women who are vice presidents and general secretaries in the team. Even in the DCCs (District Congress Committees), there will be a possibility for women to be included in the remaining vacancies,” a spokesperson for the party told ThePrint.
The Congress leader added that there can be 40 DCCs according to the party structure, leaving at least five vacancies where women can be considered.
On Thursday, Shivakumar celebrated 100 days in office with a flurry of announcements, reiterating the women-centric governance and policies including Gruha Lakshmi (Rs 2,000 per month for women heads of household) and Shakthi (free bus rides for women) among others.
"ಸಂಘಟನ್ ಸೃಜನ್ ಅಭಿಯಾನ್" ಮೂಲಕ ಪ್ರಜಾಸತ್ತಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಎಐಸಿಸಿಯಿಂದ ನೇಮಕವಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನೂತನ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರುಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು.
ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ತತ್ವ ಸಿದ್ದಾಂತದ ಮೂಲಕ ತಳಮಟ್ಟದಿಂದಲೇ ಪಕ್ಷವನ್ನು ಬಲಪಡಿಸಲು ಸಕ್ರೀಯರಾಗಿ, ಪಕ್ಷ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗೆ ಶ್ರಮವಹಿಸುತ್ತೀರಿ ಎಂದು ಆಶಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.… pic.twitter.com/UwjuqYamEm
— Hariprasad.B.K. (@HariprasadBK2) September 10, 2026
Incidentally, there were no mentions of women in any of his posts or his open letter to mark the day, even though he referred to farmers, workers, students and other sections of the electorate. Even in his presentation for ‘Dhruda Karnataka’ and vision for 2037, Shivakumar’s government projected women as beneficiaries of schemes and not as a distinct section of the population.
Also read: High enthusiasm, big long-term goals, some setbacks: DK Shivakumar’s first 100 days as Karnataka CM
‘Same reaction as last time’
Across two Cabinet reshuffles within three months, the Congress has not been able to finalise a woman to be inducted. Party insiders say “there is no urgency” to induct women in a rush even though the party appears to have finalised the name of Annapoorna Tukaram to fill up the ‘reserved’ berth in the cabinet.
One party leader said that the new Congress team is trying to rebuild from the bottom up which requires a lot of running around that may not be possible for many women.
The Mahila Congress is equally disillusioned with what has happened. Sowmya Reddy, the president of the state Mahila Congress, did not respond to requests seeking comments. Her only response: “Same reaction as last time.”
In her earlier interaction with ThePrint, she had said that she was “pretty upset”. “It’s a big concern,” she said earlier.
C Manjula, the president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha said that the Congress repeatedly invokes S.M. Krishna’s reign for various reasons, including his vision. However, she they rarely speak about his cabinet which had four women ministers, she said.
Manjula, however, conceded that the situation is no better within her party. The BJP is marginally better than the Congress in terms of women representation in its districts and state team.
“There is a male dominance in politics. And the state leadership does not have anyone who can emulate the dynamic leadership of (Narendra) Modi or his vision,” she said.
She added that women are required for work but in power, the male dominance ensures that they often yield only to other men. “I understand the way men think. But the vision is lacking on how to better utilise 50 percent of the population in a more effective manner,” she said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also read: Karnataka all-male cabinet row: Why CM Shivakumar isn’t able to induct a woman minister