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BENGALURU: When Congress hit rock bottom in Karnataka in 2018 and needed someone to pull the party out of the pits, it turned to the ‘Kanakapura bande’, the rock of Kanakapura. Cut to 2023. D K Shivakumar, the “Rock”, delivered what looked unthinkable five years ago – Congress regained the southern state with an absolute majority.
The 61-year-old Shivakumar, an eight-time MLA and the party’s Karnataka unit chief, was chosen to be deputy CM. It was a tough choice the Congress high command had to make between the Vokkaliga politician and the older stalwart Siddaramaiah for the CM’s post. Shivakumar, one of the richest politicians in the country, will continue as the party’s state president, at least until next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
In a career spanning over four decades, DKS has built a formidable reputation for his unparalleled organisational skills, and as a trouble-shooter and go-getter. The adjectives kept getting added to his name with each feat – the biggest was rebuilding Karnataka Congress from scratch when the party faced an existential crisis.
When BJP emerged as the single largest party in 2018, DKS pulled off a JD(S)-Congress coalition government. But the alliance broke in 2019 and BJP took office.
Born in 1962 in Kanakapura, DKS joined NSUI when he was 18. In 1989, he contested assembly polls from Sathanur, a Janata Dal pocket borough, and won. In 1991, when CM Veerendra Patil took ill, DKS played an important role in getting S Bangarappa appointed CM.
He made headlines in 2017, hosting Congress MLAs from Gujarat in Bengaluru and helping Ahmad Patel win the Rajya Sabha elections in a hard-fought battle with BJP.
The 61-year-old Shivakumar, an eight-time MLA and the party’s Karnataka unit chief, was chosen to be deputy CM. It was a tough choice the Congress high command had to make between the Vokkaliga politician and the older stalwart Siddaramaiah for the CM’s post. Shivakumar, one of the richest politicians in the country, will continue as the party’s state president, at least until next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
In a career spanning over four decades, DKS has built a formidable reputation for his unparalleled organisational skills, and as a trouble-shooter and go-getter. The adjectives kept getting added to his name with each feat – the biggest was rebuilding Karnataka Congress from scratch when the party faced an existential crisis.
When BJP emerged as the single largest party in 2018, DKS pulled off a JD(S)-Congress coalition government. But the alliance broke in 2019 and BJP took office.
Born in 1962 in Kanakapura, DKS joined NSUI when he was 18. In 1989, he contested assembly polls from Sathanur, a Janata Dal pocket borough, and won. In 1991, when CM Veerendra Patil took ill, DKS played an important role in getting S Bangarappa appointed CM.
He made headlines in 2017, hosting Congress MLAs from Gujarat in Bengaluru and helping Ahmad Patel win the Rajya Sabha elections in a hard-fought battle with BJP.
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