5 D.K. Shivakumar facts: ‘Giant killer’, ‘troubleshooter’ - the story behind Congress icon’s many names

Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar is going to helm the Congress government in Karnataka, as senior leader Siddaramaiah decides to step down. Shivakumar, the incumbent Deputy Chief Minister, will receive a promotion in line with the directions of the Congress high command, according to several ministers.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi on Tuesday, where back-to-back meetings were held at the Congress headquarters involving Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, and party general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala. Often referred to as DKS or DKShi, Shivakumar is one of the tallest figures in the Congress, who was focused on becoming the Chief Minister well before the campaigning for the 2023 assembly elections began. There is no questioning his stature for the top job in Bengaluru, having served in several roles for the party over the decades.

Here are five things that make D.K. Shivakumar stand out as an indispensable figure within the Congress setup:

1. A dark horse in persistent pursuit of glory: D.K. Shivakumar made his parliamentary politics debut aged just 23 when he contested against H.D. Deve Gowda from the now-defunct Sathanur Assembly seat. There was not to be a fairytale finish, as the Young Turk bit the dust—losing by a margin of around 15,803 votes. However, the Congress trusted him enough to pit him from the seat again in 1989, and Shivakumar delivered, defeating U.K. Swamy of the Janata Dal by a margin of 13,650 votes. The win earned him a place in the S. Bangarappa cabinet—being handed the Prisons portfolio aged just 30. Since then, DKS has never lost an election, his track record shows.

2. The giant killer: The Indian National Congress needed vibrant Vokkaliga faces to take on Deve Gowda's charisma. S.M. Krishna and Shivakumar were the obvious picks for the party to counter the growing influence of the Deve Gowda family among the community. When H.D. Kumaraswamy, the scion of the Janata Dal legacy, contested from Shivakumar's Sathanur in 1999, most expected the incumbent Congress minister to be humbled. But when the counting concluded, DKS polled 56,050 votes against HDK's tally of 41,663. He was officially the new "giant killer" of Karnataka politics.

3. The master strategist: Shivakumar's political career entered the elite tier when S.M. Krishna handed him the Urban Development portfolio in 1999. When the world welcomed the millennium, DKS was establishing himself as an ubiquitous power player in state politics. But what followed the Krishna government in Karnataka was a coalition government, with the JD(S) and Congress joining hands. Obviously, the Deve Gowda camp ensured both DKS and Krishna were reduced to sidekicks. Although there were some initial attempts at disruption, there was no doubt that Shivakumar was going to join the Siddaramaiah cabinet when the Congress returned to power in the state.

4. A fierce competitor: His rivalry with the JD(S) supremos formed a major part of his political legacy as they exchanged blows to seal turf supremacy. When the Congress fielded journalist Tejaswi Gowda against Deve Gowda from the Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat, the onus of leading the campaign fell on DKS. It was a matter of pride for him, and he succeeded in ensuring Gowda's win by a margin of over one lakh votes, whilst Deve Gowda was pushed to the third spot behind the BJP. Bengaluru Rural became a bastion for DKS and his brother Suresh, perennially repelling JD(S) siege attempts. However, Shivakumar's rivalry did not stand in the way of a JD(S)–Congress alliance forming a government together in the state—proving that he was a true team player who placed the party above personal grounds.

5. The ultimate troubleshooter: D.K. Shivakumar is listed among the leaders closest to the Congress high command. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra particularly respect his troubleshooting and managerial skills. Shivakumar was instrumental in safeguarding Maharashtra’s Congress legislators when the Vilasrao Deshmukh government faced a trust vote in 2002, The Hindu said in a report. He was tasked with a similar mission in Gujarat in 2017 ahead of a Rajya Sabha election, when Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel was in the fray. A year later, DKS had to lead a similar operation on his home turf, but he ultimately failed to save the Congress–JD(S) coalition government as several legislators from both camps switched to the BJP.