Six years of responsibility

By DK Shivakumar
Some moments in public life stay with you long after they pass. They change how you see politics and remind you why you chose to be in public service in the first place.

In September 2019, I spent fifty days in Tihar Jail. Life there is very different from public life outside. The noise disappears. There are no meetings, no phones, no entourage of followers. What remains is silence and time for reflection. When everything familiar is taken away, you get a different kind of clarity and insights.

One particular incident from those days will always be etched in my memory. The day Mrs. Sonia Gandhi came to meet me in Tihar Jail. Without any fanfare or media. She just came to see how I was doing and to give me strength. That visit meant a great deal to me. In politics, loyalty is often spoken about. But moments like that remind you what loyalty actually means. When you stand by your organization through difficult times, the organization stands by you when you need it.

Not just that incident, I have been fortunate to learn from many great leaders who shaped my understanding of politics and informed my value system.
When as a young party worker, I was not only given the space to speak to Mr. Rajiv Gandhi (when he was the PM) honestly about the state of turmoil in Karnataka politics and share my unabridged assessment of the party and its leadership but also was handpicked by him to represent the Youth Congress in Korea, it left a deep mark on me on how leadership needs to be open and accessible. Mr. Bangarappa’s conscious and visionary act of giving positions of responsibility to younger and emerging leaders also taught me that leaders need to listen and operate beyond hierarchy.

Those lessons stayed with me when I was given organizational responsibilities and took charge as the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in March 2020. I made certain that the cycle of openness, accessibility and merit continued and was passed on as an organizational value to our cadres.

Soon after I took charge, the COVID lockdown began, but even amidst all the loss and chaos, the deliberate attempts for the strengthening of the party to serve the people, did not stop. Even when physical meetings were impossible, we stayed digitally connected and ensured that the relief was provided to over 1 crore households in 30 days. It was a new way of political and social outreach, but it ensured that the robustness of the party cadre we built, was able to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Once the movement restrictions eased, I began the herculean task of rebuilding the organization systematically, from ground up. Booth committees were reviewed and strengthened, district units reorganized and communication across the party structure improved. One of the major reforms was digitizing membership so that enrolment could be transparent and verifiable. Through steady work across the State, Karnataka enrolled nearly 78 lakh digital members in less than 180 days, one of the largest membership drives in the country.

Alongside membership reforms, we focused on decentralization of power and younger blood was given organizational responsibilities. Internal communication improved and cadres once again began to feel connected to the party structure.

Leading the party into victory the 2023 elections was a strategic but honest and well thought out plan, that I had to deliver on, to honor the faith that was put in my by the high command.

We took up issues that were important and central to the welfare of the people of Karnataka. One of the biggest public concerns of corruption (the allegations of 40 percent commission) was raised by us across all political and social platforms. Social justice to all marginalized communities was ensured through the guarantees. We were building a party for the people.

And the citizens also recognized this and joined the movement of change. The Mekedatu padayatra that I led brought together workers and citizens around the question of Karnataka’s water security. Our mobilization, party’s organizational prowess and people’s support ensured that the Karnataka leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra was a massive success and a remarkable chapter in the history of public movement in modern day Indian politics.

Over the last six years, rebuilding the party to be the force of power it is today in Karnataka, has involved patience and steady effort. Political parties do not grow because of slogans alone. They grow when workers stay committed and people continue to place their trust in them. In an era, where a divisive narrative of Congress Mukt Bharat is being pushed by the ruling party, Karnataka Congress has stood as a vanguard to protect the essence of democracy and the voice of the people.

For me, the party has never been just a political platform. It shaped me into the person I am today, taught me how to show up for people, and will always be the place where I continue to serve.

(The author is Karnataka deputy chief minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president)