BENGALURU: Harbouring chief ministerial dreams, Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar and his brother DK Suresh, popularly known as the ‘DK Brothers’, are playing it cautious in Channapatna.
They have restrained themselves from taking on former prime minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda’s family directly in the electoral battle. Shivakumar, who knew that Union minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil would contest the November 13 Channapatna bypoll, desisted from fielding Suresh and risking himself, according to analysts.
Now, with CP Yogeshwara moving to the Congress and getting the party ticket, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too backing him, the DK brothers will be at ease. In the 2023 assembly polls, they had adopted a similar strategy and ensured that their man, HA Iqbal Hussain, had defeated Nikhil in Ramanagara.
They were taken aback when the NDA fielded Gowda’s son-in-law Dr CN Manjunath on a BJP ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which ended in Suresh’s defeat. It came as a setback for Shivakumar who was eyeing the CM’s chair after Siddaramaiah, with talk of a pact being sealed at the Congress high command level. A defeat in Channapatna, if Suresh had contested and lost, would have damaged his image. Hence, he sought the advice of his deity ‘Ajjaiah Swamy’, according to sources.
The DK brothers had targeted Gowda’s family and the JDS, which is still a force to reckon with in the Vokkaliga heartland. Interestingly, they brokered peace with their Vokkaliga compatriot Yogeshwara, who had worked for Dr Manjunath’s victory. The decision to field Yogeshwara will also help the Congress strengthen its base in the region.
“The people of Channapatna gave the Congress 85,000 votes in the LS polls, as against BJP’s 1lakh votes,” Shivakumar said on Thursday, adding that Yogeshwara had realised this and joined the Congress. The brothers also wanted to snub Kumaraswamy, who has turned into an influential leader as an NDA ally, and shares a good rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as does his father Deve Gowda.
In a crisis, the JDS has always managed to play the community card and field family members; this time it has fielded Nikhil Kumaraswamy. The outcome could impact his political career, as he is yet to taste electoral victory.
