D.K. Shivakumar: Congress’s go-to man in times of crisis, in crisis now

On July 23 this year, when the 14-month-old Janata Dal (Secular)–Congress coalition in Karnataka collapsed, it was as much political defeat for the grand old party as it was a personal setback for Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar. For, the Congress leader had, in May last year, moved heaven and earth to keep the 78 Congress MLAs within the party fold to deny the BJP and B.S. Yediyurappa the control of the state.

It has went downhill ever since for the 56-year-old Vokkaliga strongman, who is one of the richest MLAs in the state, with assets worth Rs 840 crore. The saffron party has formed the government in Karnataka, and Shivakumar finds himself in the dock in a money-laundering case. He was arrested on Tuesday by the Enforcement Directorate after being questioned for four days by the agency in its Delhi office.

He was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ED officials said. He will be produced in a Delhi court on Wednesday by the agency to seek his custody.

Shivakumar termed the ED move a “conspiracy” and said that he would face it "legally, politically and socially".

His arrest is a major setback to the party, which has always looked at him in times of crisis. In 2002, when the Congress-NCP coalition government in Maharashtra was on the verge of collapse, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh sought the help of Karnataka chief minister S.M. Krishna. On Krishna’s instructions, Shivakumar hosted the Maharashtra MLAs at the Eagleton resort for a week, and escorted them to Mumbai on the day of the trust vote. Deshmukh’s government survived and Shivakumar earned the trust of the Gandhi family.

Last year, while Ahmed Patel, political secretary and trusted aide of Sonia Gandhi, sought re-election to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, the Congress feared that BJP president Amit Shah would poach its MLAs to defeat Patel. Shivakumar stepped in once again and moved 44 MLAs to Bengaluru, ensuring Patel’s victory. His offices and residences were raided by the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate, but he stood firm.

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Shivakumar, who comes from a farming family in Kanakapura near Bengaluru, joined the Youth Congress while in college. In the 1985 assembly elections, he took on senior Janata Dal leader H.D. Deve Gowda in Sathanur. Although he lost by a narrow margin, he won the seat in the byelection after Deve Gowda vacated Sathanur to retain Holenarsipura. He has had an uneasy relationship with the Gowda family since then.

In 1991, Shivakumar helped S. Bangarappa become chief minister and was rewarded with a ministerial berth. When S.M. Krishna became chief minister in 1999, Shivakumar was referred to as “de facto CM” because of his growing clout. But, in 2004, when the Congress needed the support of the JD(S) to form the government, Deve Gowda managed to keep him out of the cabinet.

In 2013, when the Congress won majority in the assembly, Shivakumar was denied a cabinet berth in the Siddaramaiah government, citing corruption charges, although he was a contender for the chief minister’s post. Shivakumar, however, fought his way into the cabinet a year later.

During the 2018 elections, Shivakumar declared truce with Deve Gowda and supported Kumaraswamy in Channapatna. But, he missed the top post once again. He was overlooked for the deputy chief minister’s post, too, as the coalition preferred a dalit candidate and opted for G. Parameshwara.

Shivakumar and his brother D.K. Suresh, who represents Bengaluru Rural in Parliament, hold sway in Kanakapura. The family is accused of illegal mining and land grab and is entangled in legal battles. But, Shivakumar was unfazed. “I came from a small village to Bengaluru to do politics,” he said. “I fear none.”

How things change within a year in politics.