BENGALURU: His usually leonine tones suddenly betrayed a touch of vulnerability as he spoke these words to reporters on August 30: "I am a loyal Congressman and have worked for the party. I am being targeted for carrying out responsibilities that the party entrusted me with. This is a political conspiracy." Former Minister DK Shivakumar seemed to be fully aware that it was the last time he could express his opinions before his imminent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. It would be a rude interruption to a rather spectacular run.
Shivakumar's stature in Karnataka Congress had grown exponentially since 1979 when he was handpicked to be promoted in the Youth Congress -- but perhaps this growth pales in comparison to the jump in his assets during his four decades of public life, especially in the last phase. DKS had declared a comparatively modest (for a modern politician) Rs 7.98 crore as the total value of his assets, as also zero cases, in 2004 -- the oldest of his affidavits available on the Election Commission website. In 2018, just 14 years later, he was to declare Rs 840+ crore assets -- which made him one of the richest politicians in the country (on paper at least). What's more, he had four criminal cases against his name, including those under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
His aggrandised net worth was on full, and taunting, display as played a strong one-man counter to the BJP in two dramatic episodes of 'resort politics' -- hosting Gujarat Congress MLAs during Ahmed Patel's Rajya Sabha election and later during Karnataka's own topsy-turvy government formation months later. That's what earned him the moniker, 'Mr Moneybags'.
That's also what elicited a humorous response from the Karnataka Speaker when DKS, accusing the BJP of harassing him, told the assembly: "I come from a middle-class family." Then Speaker Ramesh Kumar had laughed, saying: "By calling yourself middle-class, you have made those of us who are from middle-class families very happy."
Emerging from the Vokkaliga heartland of Kanakapura -- part of a swathe that had already been celebrating the doyen of the community, HD Devegowda --Shivakumar navigated himself tactfully to stardom in the Congress. In 1985, all of 23 years old, Shivakumar had chosen to take on a giant like Devegowda in his very first election. He lost, of course, but that David-like derring-do cemented his place in the Congress for years to come. Shivakumar fulfilled the giant-slayer's role in entirety in 1989, this time as an independent after the Congress refused him a ticket, when he defeated Gowda on his home turf of Sathanur. This feat heralded his return to, and gradual rise within, the Congress echelons. He was duly rewarded with a junior minister's portfolio (ironically, Prisons) in the S Bangarappa cabinet. His tryst with the high command of the Congress, however, was yet to come. That happened in 1999.
That was the year when the soft-spoken fellow Vokkaliga, SM Krishna, took over as CM. In his cabinet, which ran for the full complement of five years, Shivakumar consistently held the (lucrative) Urban Development portfolio -- the focus point of Krishna's entire tenure. All through, his assets were registering a steep rise, as were the number of criminal cases and allegations against him. But it was after the 2017 'Gujarat hijack drama', when Shivakumar proved more than an equal for Amit Shah's formidable 'man management' skills and ensured Ahmed Patel's election into the Rajya Sabha, that the Income Tax department came knocking on his doors. From there, his troubles too have doubled, with the ED stepping in.
From land denotification, encroachment, illegal mining, corruption (and now money-laundering), Shivakumar's image has not been one easy to defend in terms of public probity. That very taint was, in fact, used to keep him out of the Dharam Singh cabinet in 2004, which stood on a JDS-Congress alliance. It was the state's first-ever coalition regime and he was victim to the kind of politics inherent to it: for, it was time for the Gowda family, which held the lifeline of the coalition, to exact revenge upon an old bugbear. Siddaramaiah, as he rose to be CM in 2014, too is said to have tried his best to keep Shivakumar out of his cabinet but managed to keep him at bay barely for six months. Before he knew it, under the pressure of the high command, Shivakumar was Energy minister. The glory days of 'resort politics' beckoned...and the trough was, almost inevitably, to follow the crest.
Always a showman
"I congratulate my BJP friends for finally being successful in their mission of arresting me," Shivakumar tweeted as the ED netted in its big fish in Delhi. Even in his moment of crisis, he was seeking the opportunity to position himself as someone the Congress cadre could take inspiration from. As every showman knows, the show goes on.
Old loyalties
Despite SM Krishna deserting the Congress and joining the BJP, Shivakumar's loyalties towards the veteran never changed -- and with good reason. It was in 1999 that DK Shivakumar accompanied SM Krishna to New Delhi after the latter was picked to be Chief Minister by Sonia Gandhi. That's the point when Shivakumar's graph within the party too saw its real peaks.
Once foes, now allies
This is a paradoxical twist in the tail. As Vokkaligas fighting over the same turf, DKS and the Gowdas have faced off electorally several times. But now, despite both being out of power (or perhaps because of it) and despite the lack of clarity over whether the alliance continues, the JDS, as per former CM HD Kumaraswamy's instructions, is standing firmly behind Shivakumar. Mind you, not the Congress but just that one single leader, DK Shivakumar. The idea is to stand in united protest against the alleged conspiracy by the BJP.
Sought by all
"You will never become Chief Minister in the Congress. You should have chosen better," BS Yediyurappa had told Shivakumar in the Karnataka assembly in 2018 when he was delivering his resignation speech just two days after taking oath as Chief Minister. It became clear that the BJP had been pursuing Shivakumar to join their ranks, an offer the Vokkaliga leader had flatly refused. Among his devotees in the Congress, that's one of the facts that add lustre to the aura of DKS -- at a time partymen all over the country are jumping ship en masse.
Friends in all parties
Sensing his community's sensibilities towards the JDS, Shivakumar was quick to bury the hatchet and adapt to the coalition post-2018 assembly polls. Shivakumar's focus remained on emerging as the next Vokkaliga mass leader in the State. His dedication in grooming and ensuring the victory of Tejaswini Gowda -- who later joined BJP -- against HD Devegowda in 2004 Lok Sabha elections and bringing CP Yogeshwara to the Congress -- though he jumped to the BJP too -- were centred on creating and cultivating a close circle of community men who could win elections.
Taking on too much?
Shivakumar's first step towards expanding his horizons came when he was given in-charge of Bellari bypolls, where Congress's VS Ugrappa trumped BJP's Shanta. But his attempt to gain control over Belagavi as district incharge minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet backfired, setting off a string of rebellions against the coalition, ultimately leading to its collapse.