Often credited as a key Congress troubleshooter, DK Shivakumar has political pundits on tenterhooks as they wonder whether he will be a part of the next Karnataka government should Siddaramaiah return as chief minister

Party first. This has been a guiding principle for DK Shivakumar, currently a contender for the coveted post of chief minister. But according to those familiar with Shivakumar’s attitude and worldview, rule out a possibility of a rebellion in case veteran Siddaramaiah is chosen ahead of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress unit chief. Perhaps the only avenue for bargaining Shivakumar may insist upon is that he alone should be sworn in as DCM [ deputy chief minister] whenever Siddaramaiah’s ministry is constituted.

For 60-year-old Shivakumar, the post of deputy chief minister is not up for grabs for the first time. In a News18 Town Hall, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president had candidly told political editor Marya Shakil that he was offered the post of deputy chief minister by the BJP. The seemingly bizarre offer was reportedly made by some law-enforcing agency person when Shivakumar was booked in graft and money laundering cases. “Jail or deputy chief minister” was the offer made to me. I chose to go to Jail,” Shivakumar said in response to Marya’s lively rapid-fire question about whether he had ever received an offer to join the BJP.

Shivakumar had spent 50 days in Delhi’s Tihar jail after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 3 September, 2019 in a money laundering case. He was released on 23 October after the Delhi High Court granted him bail. During his stint in Tihar, AICC president Sonia Gandhi paid a visit to him at Tihar.

Shivakumar insists that he has “proofs and records” that he was sent to jail for refusing to join the BJP.

When the countdown for May 2023 assembly polls began, a political consultant made a presentation projecting Shivakumar as a central figure. The KPCC chief who is one of the richest party leaders in the entire All India Congress Committee, however, declined insisting that the party should be a central piece and seniors like Siddaramaiah should also figure in prominently. As per the Association for Democratic Reforms [ADR] NGO, the eight-time Congress MLA has assets worth Rs 1,413 crore.

In the last two decades, Shivakumar has developed a reputation of sorts in being the Congress’ ‘troubleshooter’ in matters such as ‘resort politics’. In August 2017 when Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, considered a politician among politicians, found himself cornered in his Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat, Shivakumar, then energy minister under Siddaramaiah, had bailed out Patel, shifting the party’s 44 MLAs from Gujarat to Bengaluru. When Patel got elected, he went public not only thanking Shivakumar but admitting, “I owe my victory to your efforts.” Sonia Gandhi too had called to personally thank Shivakumar then.

The Vokkaliga leader is a workaholic too. According to some party leaders, throughout Karnataka polls, Shivakumar seldom slept for four hours or more at a stretch. On a few occasions, his daily working hours were 20 to 22 hours. Shivakumar had been preparing for the 2023 Assembly polls since 2020. His role during the Covid pandemic saw KPCC working round the clock distributing 94 lakh medical kits and food packets, reallocating thousands of migrant labourers and donating ambulances. The digital and physical membership drive saw 78 lakh new members enrolling in the KPCC. Pada yatras, freedom march and Bharat Jodo Yatra saw the engagement of over 20 million Kannadigas. These measures perhaps explain why the Congress vote percentage and MLAs tally went up drastically surpassing expectations too.

Shivakumar’s journey as a top leader in the Congress has not been smooth. BK Hariprasad who was Sanjay Gandhi’s blue-eyed boy in Karnataka is credited to have discovered Shivakumar as a student leader in the early 1980s. Firebrand then, Shivakumar in 1985 chose to contest against HD Deve Gowda but lost. However, internal squabbling at the behest of a Union minister forced Shivakumar to leave the Congress and contest as an independent and win the Sathanur assembly constituency. He was denied a ticket in 1989 but in 1991, Shivakumar joined S Bangarappa camp to become a junior state minister looking after prison and guards. PV Narasimha Rao saw Shivakumar joining the breakaway Tiwari Congress that had ND Tiwari and Arjun Singh. Arjun Singh in fact, became his mentor of sorts. Perhaps this phase of his political career brought him to the notice of Sonia Gandhi who was keeping a close tab on those opposed to Narasimha Rao. Some sections of the Congress to date believe that Sonia was instrumental in the creation of Congress [Tiwari] in 1995 as the breakaway group of which Shivakumar was also a part. However, the breakaway group merged with the parent organisation during the Sitaram Kesri era which was immediately followed by Sonia taking direct control of the party.

In the Congress circles outside Karnataka, Shivakumar’s rise and his story of success and devotion have become part of party folklore.