From Sathanur to Vidhana Soudha: Tale of D K Shivakumar's gutsy political journey

Bengaluru: May 2023. Congress had just stormed to power in Karnataka with a massive majority.

Doddaalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, had his own philosophy: “A single man with courage makes a majority.”

Shivakumar projected himself as the ‘lone wolf’ who steered Congress to a big victory in Karnataka, making a case for him to become the chief minister. After the Congress’ victory, a teary-eyed Shivakumar said he had delivered on the promise he made to Sonia Gandhi.

However, Shivakumar settled to become the deputy chief minister.

Three years later, the eight-time legislator from Kanakapura is set to become the chief minister.

DK Shivakumar in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. 

It was an impatient wait cloaked with silence for Shivakumar, 64, who has earned himself the moniker ‘Bande’ (Rock), an ode to his never-say-die attitude on foraying into political challenges.

Shivakumar spent his formative years attending the Vittal Shakha (camp) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Rajajinagar. Before Shivakumar made his Assembly poll debut in 1985, the Congress-backed NSUI had denied him a student election ticket. At the time, BJP's Ananth Kumar unsuccessfully tried to bring Shivakumar into the ABVP.

D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah

As a student leader in the 1980s, Shivakumar was able to make headway into the Congress after Devaraj Urs and his followers walked out of the party in 1979. His first Assembly election in 1985 was against HD Deve Gowda from Sathanur, which he lost. He won his first Assembly election in 1989.

In 1999, Shivakumar defeated Gowda's son HD Kumaraswamy, again from Sathanur.

Over the years, he has grown to be a trusted lieutenant of the Gandhi family, making him the Congress’ political consigliere.

In 2019, Shivakumar was lodged in the Tihar jail for 50 days in connection with a money laundering case. Sonia Gandhi visited him in jail, reassuring that the party stood by him, something that Shivakumar recalls to this day with gratitude.

In March 2020, Shivakumar was appointed as the Karnataka Congress president, a task he has carried out ruthlessly.

Over the years, Shivakumar rose in the ranks by establishing himself as a troubleshooter. In 2002, the then Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh sought the help of the then Karnataka CM SM Krishna to safeguard his MLAs, in fear of them being poached. At that time, it was Shivakumar who came to the rescue and held the MLAs in a resort in Bidadi. Similarly, in 2017, he safeguarded 44 Gujarat MLAs and for a third time, he pulled off safeguarding MLAs for the Congress-JD(S) coalition after the 2018 Assembly polls.

By helping the Congress win several seats in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysore region, Shivakumar has established himself as an alternative to the Deve Gowda clan who have been the undisputed Vokkaliga leaders thus far.

A postgraduate in political science, Shivakumar chairs the National Education Foundation and the DKS Charitable Institute Trust that run several educational institutions.

Deeply religious and spiritual, Shivakumar has often credited Ajjayya (Karivrushabha Deshikendra Shivayogishwara Swami of Nonavinakere Mutt) as his source of strength.