D. K. Shivakumar

Shivakumar was born to Kempegowda and Gouramma[1] in Kanakapura[2] near Bangalore, Karnataka. He belongs to the Vokkaliga community.[3]

He has a younger brother D. K. Suresh who's also a politician.[4] Shivakumar married Usha in 1993 and has two daughters, Aishwarya and Aabharana, and a son Aakash with her. His oldest daughter is married to Amartya, son of Café Coffee Day founder V. G. Siddhartha.[5]

He is one of the richest politicians in India.[6]

DK Shivakumar in 2023

Shivakumar started his political career in the early 1980s as a student leader and gradually rose through the ranks of the Congress party. He won his first election in 1989 when he was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the Sathanur constituency in Mysuru district. He was just 27 years old at the time and contested the election on a Congress ticket.[7] Shivakumar went on to win re-election from the same constituency in the subsequent assembly elections in 1994, 1999 and 2004. He won from Kanakapura constituency in 2008, 2013, 2018 & 2023.[8][9][10][11][12]

Vilasrao Deshmukh, during his tenure as Chief Minister of Maharashtra, worked closely with Shivakumar when he faced the motion of no confidence in 2002. Shivakumar hosted the Maharastra legislators in his resort located in the outskirts of Bangalore for a week until the date of vote. This saved Deshmukh's government.[13]

Just before his election to the Rajya Sabha in 2017 from Gujarat, he assisted his party leadership to move 42 Gujarat Congress MLAs into his resort in Bengaluru in order to avoid them moving to another political party. Subsequently, this helped Ahmed Patel to win election.[8][14]

He is credited with playing a critical role in the formation of the coalition government of Indian National Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka following the 2018 election.[15]

He is also a close confidante of party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.[16] Shivakumar is among the richest politicians in India. While filing his nomination for election in 2018, he declared total assets of ₹840 crore.[17]

On 2 July 2020, Shivakumar officially took charge as Karnataka PCC president succeeding Dinesh Gundu Rao.[18]

D. K. Shivakumar saw rapid rise of his political career in Karnataka since 1999, particularly during the tenure of the S.M. Krishna-led state government, which also witnessed numerous allegations of corruption. These allegations included charges of illegal granite mining, impersonation, forgery, cheating, tax evasion, possession of disproportionate assets and criminal conspiracy.[22]

On 2 August 2017, Shivakumar's residence and office in Bengaluru were raided by the Income Tax Department in connection with alleged tax irregularities. Eagleton Golf Resort in Bidadi, a town in the outskirts of Bengaluru, frequented by Shivakumar and owned by his brother D. K. Suresh, was also raided.[23] Searches were carried out by 300 officials for a span of 80 hours in 67 locations[24] across New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Chennai and Shivakumar's hometown Kanakapura. It was revealed that ₹8 crore was seized from Shivakumar's Delhi residence and ₹2 crore from other locations. Central Reserve Police Force personnel were summoned to provide security during the raids.[25] The raid followed after 44 Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from the Indian National Congress were hosted in the resort after a number of legislators from the party quit to join the Bharatiya Janata Party prior to the Rajya Sabha elections.[26] The raids ended on 5 August and reportedly an undisclosed income of nearly ₹300 crore was recovered.[27] He and his associates were given anticipatory bail.[28]

On 3 September 2019, he was arrested on charges of money laundering and income tax evasion. He has called the charges "baseless" and "politically motivated" done by the BJP government of Karnataka.[29][30]

Fresh ED summons have been given to him in money laundering case as more documents have been sought.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating a case against D. K. Shivakumar for allegedly possessing Rs 74.93 crore in disproportionate assets, in relation to his known sources of income, during the period of 2013-2018. He held the position of a minister within the Congress-JD(S) coalition government of Karnataka led jointly by H. D. Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah[31][32]

D. K. Shivakumar successfully won his first election to the Karnataka assembly in 1989. Over the course of three decades, he has accumulated substantial wealth. From the available election affidavits starting in 2004, his assets have grown significantly, reaching a staggering ₹840 crore in 2018, inclusive of his wife and children's holdings. It is worth noting that DKS's brother, D. K. Suresh, who has served as a Member of Parliament representing the Bengaluru Rural seat, has also seen a substantial increase in his assets. From a declared amount of ₹85 crore in 2014, his wealth multiplied to ₹338 crore in 2019.[33]

A Public Interest Litigation (writ petition No. 562 of 2009) was filed by NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS) against D. K. Shivakumar in the Supreme Court of India which described his role in the acquisition of 900,000 metric tons of high-quality iron ore masked under the pretense of purchasing low-grade iron ore and mud at an exceptionally low price of Rs 15-25 per tonne, in stark contrast to its actual market value. Subsequently, D. K. Shivakumar sold this iron ore at a significantly higher price, resulting in an extraordinary profit gain due to his political influence.[34]

• Official website