Congress troubleshooter Shivakumar takes reins of party's Karnataka unit

Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar, popularly known as DKShi, the controversial, yet charismatic leader of the Congress in Karnataka, took oath as the president of the state unit of the party on Thursday (July 02).

He took reigns of the party after the high command appointed him as the chief in March in the midst of the pandemic.

While some drama persisted when the BJP government denied permission to hold the event a fortnight ago, Shivakumar accused the ruling government of playing vendetta politics in granting permission for his oath-taking ceremony.

Shivakumar emphasised the need to rebuild the party with grassroots workers’ support and called on them to prepare for a “BJP mukth Karnataka (BJP-free Karnataka). He urged the workers to fight for bringing back the party to power in the next Assembly.

Related News: India may overtake America’s COVID-19 count: Siddaramaiah

In the wake of lockdown forced by the pandemic, the party arranged for a virtual rally with LED screens at 7,800 centres (Congress offices and village panchayats) across the state, with an estimated participate of a million people.

“Today we cannot trust anybody. So we need not need followers to build an individual’s image, but we need to build the party,” he said.

The party gave prominence to the young leaders and said Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working presidents — Salim Mohammed, Satish Jarkiholi and Eshwar Kandre to rebuild the party in the state.

Shivakumar’s patience and arrogance that came with power and wealth threatened his opponents. He held the coalition together though he fought the JD(S) tooth and nail in the May 2018 Assembly elections in the old-Mysore region.

Related News: Total lockdown in Bengaluru on Sundays from July 5: Karnataka CMO

A chief minister in the waiting, the Congress veteran Shivakumar rose to power as a Youth Congress leader, challenging Janata Dal party supremo HD Devegowda in the late 80s.

Under the guidance of former chief minister SM Krishna, Shivakumar emerged as a tall leader within the party and posed a big threat to JD(S) in the old-Mysore region. Krishna, Shivakumar and Gowda all belonged to the dominant Vokkaliga caste. It all started in 1985 when he was just 23 years old.

He unsuccessfully contested against Deve Gowda that year. He won the Assembly election in 1989 and went on to become prisons minister in the government, led by S Bangarappa. His leadership skill had attracted top brass of the Congress.

He defeated all the three JD(S) family members — Deve Gowda, his son HD Kumaraswamy and daughter-in-law Anita Kumaraswamy. He went on to become the urban development minister in SM Krishna’s cabinet, held the energy portfolio during Siddaramaiah’s tenure and the irrigation portfolio in the latest coalition government.

His younger brother DK Suresh’s victory from Bangalore rural Lok Sabha seat gave a shot in the arm for Shivakumar.

Related News: Shut down Bengaluru for 20 days to curb coronavirus spread: Kumaraswamy

Shivakumar is one of the richest Congress MLAs in the country. As per the affidavit filed before the 2018 polls, Shivakumar declared assets worth ₹840 crore.

So, Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids are not new to him. Shivakumar is accused in at least four corruption cases including the destruction of evidence and illegal land acquisitions.

Several cases of illegal mining and illegal transportation of granite in Kanakapura and Ramanagara were filed against him and his family members.

Amid crisis in Congress, he was the sought after leader. Whether getting back the Ballari Lok Sabha seat in the iron ore-rich region that went into the hands of the BJP in 2004 or during the Rajya Sabha elections to Gujarat in 2017, the panicky Congress looked for a safe haven to lodge leaders in resorts linked to Shivakumar in Karnataka.

He was arrested on September 3, 2019, and later released on bail in an alleged money laundering case by the Enforcement directorate.

Shivakumar’s assets grew multifold rise in the last 15 years. Besides murky deals, a complex web of money transfers and property transactions within his family and friend circles made the ED doubt the growth of his assets.

As per an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, the wealth of Shivakumar and his dependents (wife and daughters) increased from a mere ₹7 crore in 2004 to ₹251 crore in 2013. This further rose to ₹840 crore by 2018.

Amid all these charges, the party still hopes to bank on him to rebuild the lost glory and snatch power from the BJP in the next Assembly election.