The Congress finally has a new party chief in Karnataka, with the party leadership stating today that high-profile trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar will replace Dinesh Gundu Rao.
“Everyone is a team, I’m not alone. We all are together and we will work together,” Mr Shivakumar said after his appointment, according to news agency ANI.
Outgoing KPCC (Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee) President Mr Rao had resigned from his post last year soon after the party’s dismal performance in December by-polls, in which 11 former Congress and JDS rebel MLAs were re-elected to the seats from which they had resigned and triggered the fall of a Congress-JDS coalition in the state.
Confirmation of Mr Shivakumar’s appointment came shortly after four-time Madhya Pradesh Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP in a shock move that has left the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government on the brink of collapse.
Mr Scindia’s resignation and crossover came amid rumblings from within the Congress over the manner in which young leaders were being side-lined in favour of veteran politicians.
However, DK Shivakumar, who led the Congress-JDS government’s fight for survival last year as he tracked down rebel MLAs to a hotel in Mumbai, will have more to worry about than the condition of Karnataka Congress.
Mr Shivakumar is facing corruption charges and even spent time in Delhi’s Tihar Jail; he had been jailed over allegations of money laundering and was released on a bond of Rs 25 lakhs.
There are those who believe the crisis that led to the Congress losing power in Karnataka in July last year was because one of the first MLAs who rebelled – Ramesh Jarkiholi – was upset over what he felt was interference by Mr Shivakumar in his home district of Belagavi in north Karnataka.
Shivakumar is a man for all seasons for the Congress. He reached the top of state politics by fighting the Gowda family in their stronghold. His long battle with the Gowdas is legendary.
The Vokkaliga leader won his first assembly election in 1989 from Sathanur in Kanakapura taluk. When S Bangarappa became the CM in 1990, he recognised Shivakumar’s talent and made him a junior minister with the ‘prisons and home guards’ portfolio. Even though the portfolio was insignificant, DK caught the attention of the top brass because of his leadership skills and spunk. He was just 29 years old and that mattered a lot.
When the HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal came to power in 1994, Shivakumar was one of the very few who survived the storm. He fought a battle with the Gowdas even when Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister.
