D Sudhakar: A politician with business acumen

Planning and Statistics Minister D Sudhakar, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 66, was a prominent leader of the Jain community and is one of the few Karnataka politicians who served as a minister in both Congress and BJP-led governments.

A native of Chitradurga district, Sudhakar won his first election in 2004 from his hometown Challakere on a Congress ticket.

Following delimitation, when the constituency was reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Sudhakar shifted his base to Hiriyur.

Denied the Congress ticket, he contested as a rebel and won the polls in 2008.

With the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP winning 110 seats (majority mark is 113), the BJP resorted to ‘Operation Lotus’, following which some Opposition MLAs joined the saffron party.

Sudhakar and other independent MLAs like P M Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Goolihatti Shekhar also supported the BJP government.

In the Yediyurappa Cabinet, Sudhakar was the social welfare minister.

Later, when Goolihatti was sacked as a minister, Sudhakar, Narendraswamy and other independents resigned as ministers and were later disqualified as MLAs. Later they were reinstated as MLAs after the Supreme Court verdict went in their favour.

Returning to Congress later, Sudhakar won twice from Hiriyur in 2013 and 23. In 2016, he was appointed as the chairman of the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS). 

He became a minister again in the Siddaramaiah-led government in 2023. Alongside senior Congressman H Anjaneya (also a former social welfare minister), Sudhakar was one of the important contemporary Congress leaders from Chitradurga.

Sudhakar is credited for his political hold and formidable electoral performances in a region where the Jain community has miniscule numbers.

Speaking about Sudhakar, Veteran Congressman V S Ugrappa (native of Tumakuru's Pavagada Taluk bordering Challakere) told DH that though Sudhakar hailed from a numerically small community, he won over the dominant communities in his constituency.

“He was a very simple man… Though he was a businessman, he never showed off. He worked as a people’s representative and hence won over the confidence of the people..”

Speaking to DH, Narendraswamy (Malavalli MLA) recalled Sudhakar as a friendly, humorous, proactive politician who was also an astute businessman.

“He was successful in various fields like politics, business, cooperative society and so on. This shows how active he was. I don’t know how he got time to be humorous. He was nice with everyone and didn’t have any enemies.”

Narendraswamy explained that Sudhakar had a political hold over both Challakere and Hiriyur. “He gave equal respect to all religions. He never made senseless talk and never took vague decisions.”