Congressman wins Karnataka’s trial

Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who was seen excited within an hour of BS Yeddyurappa’s resignation, addressed the press conference in Delhi. This was his first press conference after the dismal performance of the Congress in the Karnataka Assembly elections. The purpose of the press conference was not hidden from anyone, because Rahul Gandhi was absent since the poor results in Karnataka, he only appeared again when things started going in his favor.

In contrast, for most Congress workers in Bangalore, the real hero of this victory – if considered it – is Doddalahalli Kempegowda Sivakumar whom people know as DK Sivakumar in short. A leader of the Karnataka Youth Congress told Newslaundry, “Shivkumar is the lion of Karnataka.” Slogans in favor of Shivkumar can easily beat the slogans in favor of Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

Shivkumar was the wealthiest Congress candidate with declared assets of 700 crores. Now he is also a member of the Legislative Assembly. Seven-time MLA Shivkumar continued to represent Sathnur and later Kanakpur Assembly. He lives in Sadashivanagar, a posh area of ​​Bangalore, where the Kannada film superstar Late Rajkumar used to be his neighbor.

His younger brother DK Suresh represents the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha seat. The two brothers have considerable prestige and hold in the Kanakpur region.

Different Parts Of The Property

His huge residence in Sadashivanagar is divided into two parts. A part works as their office where their supporters and workers can meet them with their complaint. The second part is his private residence.

There is a large hallowed room as soon as they enter their house. From one side the hall is filled with glass panes in which memorabilia and trophies are adorned. In the line of these trophies, there is a trophy with a flag inscribed on it, ‘DKS’. It is also an indicator of his ambition in the politics of the Congress party and Karnataka.

Apart from being a dedicated Congressman, he also has various criminal cases registered against him. These include allegations of land grab, illegal granite mining and corruption. Hence, it is no surprise that the Congress high command selected him to deal with the Reddy-Yeddy duo of the BJP.

Shivkumar became active only after the results came out on 15 May, especially with the management of keeping the security and unity of the newly elected MLAs. A senior JD-S leader told Newslaundry, “Two-three big leaders were jointly supervising 38 JDS MLAs, while the Congress high command left 78 MLAs alone on Shivakumar.”

He further states, “Shivkumar was responsible for arranging the resort or for bringing and carrying legislators.”

The first test of his talent began with bringing two independent MLAs – R Shankar and H Nagesh – to the Congress. On the evening of 15 May, Shivkumar was successful in bringing both of them with the Congress. A day later, when BJP leader Yeddyurappa came to meet Governor Vajubhai Vala, Shankar also appeared with him. Within a few hours, the BJP again had to face embarrassment when Shankar returned to the Congress camp.

Regarding the tremendous pressure on Congress MLAs, Congress General Secretary and in-charge of the state KC Venugopal told Newslaundry, “BJP put unimaginable pressure on our MLAs. They put money, power and government agencies behind them to destabilize the democratic process. ”

Venugopal credited three leaders of the state unit for this success of the Congress. “It was a concerted effort. Siddaramaiah, God and Shivkumar. ”

“This crisis has multiplied Shivakumar’s ability, his integrity and his dedication to the party,” says E. Radhakrishnan, vice president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress.

He adds, “All BJP officials and government officials tried to impress him, but after every such attack, he emerged as a hero.” Did not exist.

“Shivkumar also fought on the ideological front. He persuaded such MLAs in his favor who were being lured at the behest of Amit Shah. He succeeded in keeping such MLAs connected with the party. We salute them, ”says Radhakrishnan. If Radhakrishnan believed, Shivkumar was also among those leaders who wrote the script for the alliance with the JD-S.

The challenge of keeping the Congress MLAs united was not the first time faced by Shivkumar. In June 2002, he successfully managed the Congress MLAs of Maharashtra and saved Vilasrao Deshmukh’s government. He led the Congress-NCP coalition government to victory in the floor test by placing 40 Congress MLAs in Golden Palm Resort.

In 2017, when veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel was on the cusp of almost losing his Rajya Sabha seat, Shivkumar proved to be his recluse. And now in 2018, when the party needed him most of this capacity, he again met the expectations of the party. This challenge was even greater because the BJP and its central leadership of the ultimate powerful center and state stood before them.

Interestingly, Sivakumar also played an important role in defeating JD-S HD Kumaraswamy in the Lok Sabha elections in 1998.

was. In 2004, he once again played a role in defeating HD Deve Gowda in the Lok Sabha elections in Kanakpur Lok Sabha seat. But in 2018, Kumaraswamy is going to become the chief minister due to the same Shivkumar.

Says a JD-S leader, “He (Shivkumar) has a better relationship with Kumaraswamy than Siddaramaiah, but there is a strong possibility that he may not be made the Deputy Chief Minister.” According to him, Karnataka Pradesh Congress President Parameshwara Parmeshwar Are at the forefront of the race. The reason for this is that the JD-S and the Congress cannot seat the Vokkaliga community at the two top positions. Both Sivakumar and Kumaraswamy are Vokkaligas.

In an interview with Newslaundry before the vote, Shivkumar openly expressed his aspiration for the post of Chief Minister. But he also said that he still has enough time for this, and will do whatever the party wants from him. This is the only thing they can trust after the latest development.