Former Minister and powerful Vokkaliga leader DK Shivakumar, who is well known as Dikeshi in political circles, is the man of the moment for the Congress-JD(S) combine.
In the entire political drama, 56-year-old Shivakumar along with his brother, an MP, DK Suresh deftly managed and kept the Congress and the JD(S) MlAs together till the resignation of Yeddyurappa.
Shivakumar, one of the richest politician in the country, no doubt is the arch rival of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and family but in the circumstances he brought the JD(S) together with the Congress to fight the BJP and Yeddyurappa and also to defeat Siddaramaiah who is seen as an outsider in the Congress.
His political forethought in the entire episode played out in Karnataka is to bring HD Kumaraswamy to the saddle and also make Congress party to it. He is always the man Congress depends in the crucial circumstances to man and match the agenda.
This time too he not only managed MlAs of both the sides but also ensured to save them from “poaching”. He averted ‘Operation lotus’ by the BJP and also prevented the onslaught of the Reddy brothers and others to lure the Congress and the JD(S) MlAs. According to his close aides, Shivakumar’s political ambition is to become Chief Minister and looking at an opportunity in 2019. He has extensively campaigned in old Mysuru area and proved himself indispensable to the Congress as a close aide of the Gandhi family.
In entirety in the ongoing political crisis Shivakumar is the kingmaker and aptly made another Vokkaliga leader of the JD(S) HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister to defeat the BJP and its designs. He brought the bitter enemies Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah on one platform to defeat the BJP. His ability and skill set once again proved for the Congress where they could form the Government proving a point for Congress president Rahul Gandhi who has faced crucial Karnataka polls after he became the party president.
In the Ministry of this combine, he might become a power Minister but his ambitions are set to the hot seat to become a powerful Vokkaliga leader. He has hit the headlines few months back for managing the Congress MlAs of Gujarat who were herded to Bengaluru in the crucial elections of their leader Ahmed Patel. This strongman of Kanankapura is always proved his loyalty to Congress in crisis.
Shivakumar, who entered politics at the young age in 1980s, is a five-time MlA. He has officially declared assets worth Rs 618 crore and seen as the future Chief Minister of the State. He always been the trouble-shooter for the party and proved this time too. He hit the news when he was raided by the IT department for three days. Shivakumar is the Congress party’s big bet in Karnataka.