DK Shivakumar is known as a troubleshooter for Congress. On four major ocassions - Ahmed Patel's Rajya Sabha election, 2020 Rajasthan political crisis, 2018 Karnataka political crisis and 2003 Maharshtra political crisis - DK Shivakumar has single-handedly taken the party to a safe zone.
The Karnataka politics is dominated by two communities - Lingayats and Vikaligga. Shivakumar belongs to the dominant Vokaligga community and is known as party's biggest community face in the state.
DK Shivakumar is a leader who started his career from the Congress party. The leader - who proved his mettle many times - never left the grand old party despite many poaching attemts.
Thanks to his managerial skills, DK Shivakumar has been able to draw a positive equation with the Gandhis. Shivakumar has taken the party out of difficult situation - not only in Karnataka but in other states as well. It is remarkable that senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had visited Shivakumar in Delhi's Tihar Jail in 2019 - an extremely rare gensture by the supreme Congress leader.
Despite having a strong clout in the organisation, DK Shivakumar is a 8-time MLA from Karnataka. He has a proven track record of ensuring thumping victories in the elections.
It is said that the business community of Karnataka trusts DK Shivakumar more than any other politician in the state. Shivakumar, at the helm of party affairs in the state, was pivotal in fething funds for the elections this year.
With a declared assets of over Rs 1,300 crores (including spouse's property), DK Shivakumar is known to be the richest politician in Karnataka.