Jail, 7-year beard & a vow: Rock of Kanakapura DK Shivakumar's road to CM seat

Bengaluru: When Doddalahalli Kempegowda (DK) Shivakumar walked out of Delhi’s Tihar Jail on the rain-soaked night of Oct 23, 2019, Congress workers waiting outside were visibly surprised. The Kanakapura strongman, known for his spotless white attire and clean-shaven appearance, stepped into the dim streetlights wearing something entirely unfamiliar — a thick salt-and-pepper beard.After 50 days in prison following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, he looked visibly worn out, but those close to him knew the beard was no accident. In his cell, Shivakumar had made a vow: The razor would not touch his face until he became Karnataka chief minister.On Saturday, as Congress Legislature Party formally endorsed him as Siddaramaiah’s successor, that vow moved closer to fulfilment. After a seven-year wait, DK had scaled the summit of Karnataka politics.Long before he became one of the state’s most powerful politicians, Shivakumar’s instincts were honed in a small video parlour he ran during the VHS boom of the 1980s. Located in what is now Bengaluru South district, the shop became more than a movie rental outlet. Youngsters gathered there, businessmen dropped in for conversations, and aspiring political workers lingered. He quickly learned that politics was built on relationships, obligations and the ability to remember people.Those instincts followed him to National College in Basavanagudi, where he earned a reputation as a talented athlete and aggressive student leader. During a college sports meet, he reportedly won the 100-metre sprint but allowed a rival serving as sports secretary to be declared winner to avoid unnecessary hostility. Later, when denied an opportunity to contest a student election, he backed a friend, Krishna Deshpande, organised the campaign from behind the scenes and secured victory without appearing on the ballot.Unlike many Congressmen shaped by ideology, Shivakumar’s politics evolved through local influence, organisation and strategic alliances. As he entered public life, he became part of the rough-and-tumble political culture of the Old Mysuru region.He arrived on the political scene early. In 1985, at just 23, he audaciously challenged veteran JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda in Sathanur. He lost, but the contest established him as a fearless contender and marked the beginning of a rivalry that still defines Vokkaliga politics. By his late twenties, Shivakumar was MLA and began building a political career that would span more than three decades. Alongside his younger brother and former Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, he transformed Kanakapura into an impregnable Congress bastion through educational institutions, cooperative bodies and caste networks.His business interests in the region’s lucrative granite and quarrying sector earned him the nickname ‘Kanakapura Bande’ (rock of Kanakapura). Critics linked it to financial muscle and quarrying interests. Supporters used it to describe his ability to withstand political storms, income-tax raids and legal battles like an immovable rock.The feud with the Deve Gowda family intensified as his influence grew. Fourteen years after his first defeat, he earned the ‘giant killer’ tag by defeating HD Kumaraswamy in Sathanur. He followed it with another significant political victory in 2004, when Congress candidate Tejaswini Gowda defeated Deve Gowda in Kanakapura, a campaign widely associated with Shivakumar’s organisational network.Yet his rise was not confined to regional battles. Unlike many state politicians who depended on Delhi for relevance, he built an independent political machine that Congress high command repeatedly turned to during crises. In 2002, he played a key role in protecting the Vilasrao Deshmukh govt in Maharashtra by hosting vulnerable MLAs in Bengaluru resorts ahead of a trust vote.The operation that elevated him nationally came during the 2017 Rajya Sabha election involving senior Congress strategist Ahmed Patel. With BJP aggressively pursuing defections in Gujarat, Shivakumar shifted Congress MLAs to a Bengaluru resort and personally supervised the operation. Patel narrowly won, and Shivakumar emerged as one of the Gandhi family’s most trusted political managers, earning the tag of Congress troubleshooter.That operation may have come at a cost. In 2017, there were income-tax raids, and in 2019, he was arrested by Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Yet, Shivakumar turned prison into political capital. Sonia Gandhi’s visit during his incarceration deeply moved him, and among party workers, he emerged as a political martyr. When he returned to Bengaluru on bail, thousands lined roads and showered his convoy with flowers. He also returned with the beard that would become his defining political symbol. Rahul Gandhi reportedly advised him to keep it, saying it gave him the appearance of one who had weathered a political storm.The rivalry with the Deve Gowda family took another turn in 2018 when a fractured mandate forced an uneasy coalition. Demonstrating political pragmatism, Shivakumar protected Congress MLAs and helped install Kumaraswamy as chief minister. The partners were dubbed ‘Jodetthu’ (pair of bullocks) by the media. The arrangement collapsed within a year, reviving the rivalry.During the 2022 Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, Shivakumar cemented his reputation as an organisational powerhouse. Tasked with managing the Karnataka leg, he personally oversaw everything from high-tech media logistics to local community engagement across districts.But Shivakumar’s real rise began when he undertook the Mekedatu Padayatra in 2022, ahead of the assembly polls the following year, when Karnataka Congress was at rock bottom. Defying Covid restrictions imposed by the BJP govt, he led a 139km march demanding the implementation of the reservoir project. Videos of an exhausted Shivakumar struggling through the march circulated widely. Critics mocked the effort, but Congress workers saw a leader willing to physically push himself for a cause. The march helped revive not only his image but also restored momentum within the party.When Congress came to office in 2023, Shivakumar faced his biggest political test. Despite leading the organisation and playing a central role in the victory, the high command chose Siddaramaiah for the chief minister’s post. He accepted the deputy chief ministership along with key portfolios, including Bengaluru development and water resources. He then turned his focus to Bengaluru.In many ways, that ambition reflected the influence of his mentor, SM Krishna, whose administrative style and urban vision had left a lasting impression on him. The relationship later acquired a personal dimension when his eldest daughter married Krishna’s grandson and son of late Cafe Coffee Day founder, VG Siddhartha.In Bengaluru, he launched an aggressive infrastructure push involving road widening, flyovers, sewage upgrades and mobility projects. Large parts of the city were turned into work zones, drawing both criticism and praise.Some of his most ambitious proposals, including an underground tunnel road network and the Bengaluru Skydeck project, remain in planning or approval stages. Critics have dismissed them as expensive or impractical, while Shivakumar has continued to argue that Bengaluru’s transformation will define Karnataka’s political future. “Right now, Bengaluru looks like a battlefield, battered by sewage pipeline works and road resurfacing. But by the end of Shivakumar’s tenure, the city could emerge completely transformed,” said an urban infrastructure expert who described him as Bengaluru’s ‘Infrastructure Czar’.Supporters see him as a self-made politician-businessman who never attempted to disguise his rise or wealth. Unlike traditional netas who project austerity, Shivakumar is known for designer clothing, luxury watches and high-end living. Yet he switches easily to rustic Kannada and connects to rural audiences with his farming background.His politics remains an unusual blend of organisational aggression and deep spirituality. Shivakumar openly acknowledges his reliance on astrology and depends on his adviser Bellur Dwarakanath for timing key political decisions. However, his strongest political asset remains a remarkable memory for names, loyalties, favours and betrayals.On Saturday, as the doors of Vidhana Soudha opened for Karnataka’s next CM, the long wait was at its end. Whether the razor finally touches the beard that became the symbol of that journey may now depend only on the oath-taking ceremony next week.