Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar—popularly known as DKShi or DKS—the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has been making headlines ever since the Karnataka Assembly elections were announced.
As Congress swept to victory with a majority of 135 out of 224 seats, he had been seen as one of the front runners for the Chief Minister’s position, but had to eventually settle for Deputy CM’s post.
Also read: Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM, DK Shivakumar his deputy
Here are the five lesser-known facts about DK Shivakumar.
SM Krishna – The Mentor
SM Krishna, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, had been DK Shivakumar’s political mentor, till the former left the Congress to join BJP.
DKS has risen through the ranks under Krishna’s guidance and the Congress leader has always held his former mentor in high regard, despite political differences.
In fact, DKS’ eldest daughter is married to SM Krishna’s grandson Amartya, the son of Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha.
Also read: How Siddaramiah worked his way to the Karnataka CM’s chair for a second time
DKS – Congress’s Man Friday
DK Shivakumar has been a party loyalist and has remained in Congress ever since he started his political career in the early 1980s. He played a key role in several pivot moments of the party. In 1991, he is said to have played crucial role in getting S Bangarappa elected as the CM after unceremonious ouster of Veerendra Patil.
In 2002, DKS kept the house together when Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was facing a no-confidence motion. He hosted a group of legislators at the outskirts of Bengaluru to protect them from poaching by rival parties, helping Deshmukh win the trust vote.
He is also highly credited for playing an important role in the formation of the coalition government of Congress and Janata Dala (Secular) in Karnataka following the 2018 election. DKS has seen as the go-to man whenever the party was in trouble.
Early life
DK Shivakumar was born to Kempegowda and Gowramma in Kanakapura, near Bengaluru. He belongs to the Vokkaliga Community. He has a Master’s degree in Political Science from Karnataka State Open University, Mysore. In 1993, he married to Usha and has two daughters (Aishwarya and Aabharana) and a son (Aakash).
The Undefeated Champ
DK Shivakumar has never lost since his first election in 1989. From 1989 to 2004, he won from the Sathanur constituency, and from 2004 to 2023, he has been winning from his home turf Kanakapura. Over the course of the eight elections, he has taken on heavyweights such as HD Kumaraswamy and could win.
DKS and Prisons
DKS was made minister of prisons and home guards in 1989, when he was barely 27 year old. Later in his career, he held the portfolios of Department of Urban Development (94-99), Energy (2013-18), and Irrigation and Medical Education (2018-19).