Karnataka Election 2023: What is special about 60-year-old DK Shivakumar? Why is it considered a big challenge for Siddaramaiah?

Karnataka Election 2023 The Congress party has registered a historic victory in the Karnataka assembly elections. While there is a wave of happiness among party leaders and workers from Delhi to Karnataka, Karnataka President of the party DK Shivakumar’s name is at the forefront among the most talked about leaders. 60-year-old leader and former minister DK Shivakumar, who was appointed Karnataka PCC chief in 2020 despite being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate a year ago on charges of money laundering, has led the party through a long and arduous journey to a position of power. The battle has been fought.

Leading the race for the post of Chief Minister, but what is the challenge?

Shivakumar, once considered a favorite of former Congress chief minister SM Krishna, was a minister during the Congress tenures of 1999-2004 and 2013-2018. During this, the clouds of corruption were seen hovering over him. At present, he is the frontrunner in the race to become the CM of Karnataka. But the race does not appear to be an easy one for them. The reason for this is former CM Siddaramaiah. Siddaramaiah, a shrewd politician in terms of politics and administration, is also eyeing the CM post.

When the BJP tried to drag the Congress and leaders like Siddaramaiah into a war of words on communal issues during the Karnataka elections, DK Shivakumar asked the party leaders to focus on the real issues of the people.

What is special about DK Shivakumar?

Siddaramaiah is a good politician but DK Shivakumar seems far ahead of him in strategy and party management. Shivakumar’s presence in the Congress party has changed a lot in many respects, be it strategy or politics, DK Shivakumar has made it a point to ensure that the party remains intact with a strong presence in the state.

The strategy adopted by DK Shivakumar on the alleged corruption in the BJP government and the ‘PayCM’ campaign against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has had a great impact on the politics of the state. Shivakumar is believed to have been at the center of decisions like barring Siddaramaiah from contesting two seats and fielding multiple candidates against the choices of other leaders. The Congress was helped to some extent by the record of its previous government led by Siddaramaiah, who was seen to have provided a clean and pro-people governance, including populist schemes that were shelved by the BJP government.

Choosing the Chief Minister is a big challenge for the Congress

Congress now faces the challenge of deciding CM between DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. Some Congress leaders have indicated that the central leadership has proposed a seat-sharing agreement between the two leaders. At present, both the leaders have expressed happiness through their statements and termed it as a very important victory for the party.