Congress leader Gayathri Shanthegowda was sworn in as a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council four years after the election, following a prolonged legal battle that overturned her initial defeat. Her induction into the House has also revived speculation over whether she will be chosen to fill the lone vacancy in the D.K. Shivakumar’s cabinet, which currently has no woman minister. Her name made it to the list of 20 ministers who took charge in the cabinet expansion on August 3.
Gayathri had initially lost the 2021 Legislative Council election from the Local Authorities constituency from Chikkamagaluru to BJP’s M.K. Pranesh by six votes. She challenged the result before the Karnataka High Court, contending that 12 nominated members of local bodies had been illegally allowed to vote. Since nominated members are not entitled to vote in Legislative Council elections from Local Authorities constituencies, she argued that their votes had materially affected the outcome.
The HC accepted her plea, ordered the exclusion of the invalid votes and directed a recount. The recount reversed the result, giving Gayathri 1,183 votes against Pranesh’s 1,174. Pranesh challenged the verdict before the Supreme Court, but the apex court upheld the High Court’s decision, confirming Gayathri as the duly elected MLC. Following the ruling, Pranesh resigned as an MLC and as the Vice-Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council, paving the way for Gayathri to take the oath.
She was administered the oath of office by Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti at his office in the presence of CM Shivakumar, KPCC president B.K. Hariprasad and members of her family. After her oath, Horatti resigned as the chairman.
Horatti, a BJP MLC who has continued as chairman with the support of the Congress, has been facing pressure from the ruling party to step down to make way for Congress leader Salim Ahmed. Ahmed was also present during Gayathri’s oath-taking ceremony.
Any expansion of the Karnataka cabinet will have to remain within the constitutional ceiling prescribed under Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, which limits the size of the council of ministers, including the chief minister, to 15 per cent of the strength of the Legislative Assembly. With a 224-member Assembly, Karnataka can have a maximum of 34 ministers. The current council of ministers has 33 members, leaving one vacancy.
The vacant berth has assumed significance as the Shivakumar cabinet currently has no woman minister. Gayathri, who belongs to the Kuruba community like Siddaramaiah and has long enjoyed his political backing, is among the names being discussed for the post. However, sources said Siddaramaiah favours another aspirant, Byadagi MLA Basavaraj Shivannavar, for the cabinet berth.
With just one ministerial vacancy available, the Congress leadership will have to balance gender representation at a time when lawmakers are expressing discontent over not getting cabinet berths.
