Not A Single Woman In Karnataka Cabinet? Congress Faces Tough Questions

Karnataka's newly expanded 33-member Congress Cabinet has triggered a political controversy after no woman was included in the Council of Ministers. The development has drawn attention because the Congress had campaigned extensively on women-centric welfare schemes ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. MLC Gayathri Shanthegowda, who was widely expected to become the Cabinet's only woman minister, was left out at the last moment, with the party citing technical issues. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has assured that a woman will be inducted later, although the Cabinet has already reached the constitutional limit. The exclusion has prompted criticism from the BJP and renewed debate over women's political representation, particularly as women played a significant role in the Congress' 2023 electoral victory.