Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar won from the Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara district by a margin of over 40,000 votes on Saturday, May 13. Although the Election Commission of India has not announced the results officially, his early victory has set the tone for the rest of the day’s counting. He defeated B Nagaraju of the JD(S), who finished second in the contest. BJP Minister R Ashoka lost by a big margin. He was contesting from Ramanagara as the BJP’s candidate. Ashoka was also fielded in his home constituency of Padmanabhanagar, where he is leading. As of 12 pm, DK Shivakumar was leading by 46,485 votes. Nagaraju had secured 9,824 votes, and Ashoka had polled 9,091 votes, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
DK Shivakumar’s victory cements him as one of the contenders for the Chief Minister’s post in Karnataka. The Vokkaliga strongman did not campaign extensively in Kanakapura, but instead toured the state leading the Congress’ election campaign in southern Karnataka. His brother and Congress MP DK Suresh campaigned on his behalf in Kanakapura.
Despite not campaigning in person, DK Shivakumar managed to win comfortably in Kanakapura. A seven-time MLA, DK Shivakumar has been elected three times from Karnakapura since 2008. He earlier represented the nearby Sathanur constituency in Ramanagara district. He is one of the richest politicians in the state with assets worth Rs 1,414 crore.
DK Shivakumar was appointed the KPCC president in March 2020, less than six months after he was released from Tihar jail in Delhi over an alleged money laundering case. Upon his release, DK Shivakumar was given a hero’s welcome and garlanded in Bengaluru.
By then DK Shivakumar had emerged as a key Congress leader who played a vital role in keeping the party leaders together, after the 2018 Assembly election led to Congress forging a post-poll alliance with the JD(S). This had initially denied the BJP, which won 104 seats, a chance to form the government.
DK Shivakumar’s proximity to the central leadership in the Congress and his ability to manage tense situations had made him a popular figure in the Congress. He played a role in safeguarding MLAs from Gujarat at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru in 2017 and ensuring the victory of Ahmed Patel in Rajya Sabha polls in the same year.
After being appointed the Water Resources Minister and Power Minister in the state in the previous Congress-led governments, it remains to be seen if DK Shivakumar has done enough to fulfill his ambition of becoming Chief Minister in the state.
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