For DK Shivakumar, the salt-and-pepper beard meant more than an appearance; it had a deeper connection to his political career and personal aim. For the past few years, the beard acted as a symbol of his long-awaited ambition of becoming Karnataka's chief minister.
What's Story Behind The Beard?
The beard traces back to 2019, when DKS spent 50 days in Tihar Jail, in Delhi, in connection with the money laundering case. When he walked out of prison, dressed in his customary white attire but sporting a greying beard, the transformation was hard to miss.
Shivakumar, till today, chose to retain the beard. In 2022, Shivakumar first dropped a hint ahead of the Mekedatu Padayatra. Responding to questions from reporters, DKS remarked, “I let this beard grow in Tihar Jail. If I have to remove my beard, only you all (people) can give me that salvation.”
On Saturday, when he was formally approved as Siddaramaiah's successor, his vow came closer to being fulfilled after a long wait of seven years.
Long before he became one of the state's most powerful politicians, Shivakumar's political acumen was honed in the 1980s at a small video parlor he ran in what is now Bengaluru's South district. The shop became much more than just a place to rent movies.
His Political Career
He entered the political arena at a very young age. In 1985, at just 23, he challenged JDS chief HD Deve Gowda in Sathanur. He lost the election, but the contest sparked a rivalry that remains a hallmark of Vokkaliga politics to this day. By his late 20s, Shivakumar had become an MLA and, along with his younger brother and former Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, he turned Kanakapura into a Congress stronghold through educational institutions, cooperatives, and caste networks.
Shivakumar gained immense popularity in the region's lucrative granite and stone quarrying business, earning him the nickname "Kanakapura Bande" (Rock of Kanakapura). Critics attributed this to his economic strength, while supporters used it to describe his ability to weather political storms.
As his influence spread across the region, his feud with the Deve Gowda family deepened. Fourteen years after his first defeat, he defeated HD Kumaraswamy at Sathanur to earn the title of "Giant Killer."
In 2004, Tejaswini Gowda of the Congress defeated Deve Gowda in Kanakapura. This election campaign was largely linked to Shivakumar's organizational network. Unlike many state leaders who depended on Delhi for their influence, DK Shivakumar built an independent political apparatus.
In 2002, he played a key role in saving the Vilasrao Deshmukh government in Maharashtra. He hosted MLAs suspected of switching sides in resorts in Bengaluru before the trust vote.
When Congress strategist Ahmed Patel was contesting the 2017 Rajya Sabha elections and the BJP was making a concerted effort to break away MLAs in Gujarat, Shivakumar sent the Congress MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru and personally oversaw the entire campaign. Patel won the election by a narrow margin, and Shivakumar emerged as one of the Gandhi family's most trusted political managers and troubleshooter.
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Shivakumar's house was raided in 2017, ED arrested him in a money laundering case in 2019. Shivakumar turned his time in jail into political capital. In 2022, he undertook the Mekedatu padayatra, defying COVID restrictions. This not only helped rehabilitate his image but also generated new momentum within the party ahead of the assembly elections next year.
Despite Shivakumar's crucial role in the Congress's electoral victory, the high command chose Siddaramaiah as chief minister. Turning this setback into an opportunity, Shivakumar, as Bengaluru Development Minister, aggressively pushed forward with infrastructure projects that could transform the city.