It Was A Do-Or-Die Battle For Me

The serene morning at the Kumara Krupa Guest House, a heritage estate that overlooks the 18-hole golf course in the heart of Bengaluru, comes alive when Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar strides in greeting a throng of visitors. Clad in a spotless white kurta-pyjama with a black jacket, he takes the stairs to the first floor, sternly announcing that he needs some quiet time for the exclusive interaction with THE WEEK. He asks the bulky sofa to be moved away, picks a sleek leatherette chair and sits on it for the photo-shoot. His confidence and sense of purpose are evident.

- RIYAD MATHEW AND PRATHIMA NANDAKUMAR

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - D.K. SHIVAKUMAR deputy chief minister, Karnataka

A master strategist, Shivakumar took over the reins of the Congress in Karnataka in 2020. It was at a time when the party was in tatters following a mass desertion of MLAs that led to the collapse of its coalition with the Janata Dal (Secular). The morale of the cadres was at its lowest, following constant electoral drubbings in rest of India, too. But Shivakumar, popularly known as Kanakapurada bande (Kanakapura’s rock), managed to pull the party out of its desolation. He transformed the party organisation by spawning tech-savvy digital booths at the village level and went all out to take on the Modi-Shah juggernaut in the May 2023 assembly polls. The BJP was reduced to 66 seats, with the Congress winning 135 of 224 seats in the assembly. The formidable duo of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar pulled off the impressive feat together. While Siddaramaiah became chief minister, Shivakumar was persuaded to be deputy chief minister.

As the Bengaluru development minister and water resources minister, Shivakumar shares his dream of restoring Bengaluru’s glory and attracting huge investments to the city and state. Delivering each of the five guarantees (freebies) in the election manifesto is the topmost priority of the government, as is good governance, he tells THE WEEK.