Karnataka Election: Will Congress' trusted Vokkaliga strategist DK Shivakumar be next CM?

In a move to raise the stakes in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly Elections, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar will be contesting from Kanakapura constituency. As the cauldron of Karnataka polls is on the boil now, Shivakumar is vying for the post of Chief Minister this time. 

A seven-time MLA, DK Shivakumar had represented the Sathanur constituency and had won four times since 1989. He has held key ministerial positions in Congress governments in the state. In the latest stint, he served as the minister of irrigation in the JD(S)-Congress government which eventually fell in 2019.

For Congress, the KPCC president is a master strategist and is the go-to person in times of crisis. Shivakumar played a significant role in the formation of the coalition government of Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka following the 2018 elections.

Shivakumar to contest from Kanakapura 

Congress' trusted Vokkaliga strategist-strongman is known for his close ties with the party's high command and his ability to mobilise support among the party workers. His political career blossomed as he continued to seize the chances that came his way. 

In 1985, the then 23-year-old Congress leader contested from the Sathanur seat on a Congress ticket but lost to HD Deve Gowda. Shivakumar then won from the constituency for the first time in 1989. In 2008, he won the Kanakapura seat and retained it in 2013 and 2018. Shivakumar was appointed the president of the Karnataka Congress in 2020. 

According to sources, Shivakumar garnered 68,096 votes in 2008, in the 2013 elections, he got 1,00,007 votes. In 2018 the 60-year-old Congress leader received 1,27,552 votes.