Why Is D K Shivakumar Called ‘Kanakapura Rock’

A couple of years back many had written off D K Shivakumar following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges.

However since his release, he was appointed as the Congress chief in Karnataka, following which he worked his way back and even strengthened the party.

This time around he was up against R Ashok of the BJP in his bastion of Kanapaura. However Shivakumar trounced his opponent going on to show that there is no stopping him on that seat.

Shivakumar hardly campaigned in Kanakpaura and focused on the rest of the state. This only shows the kind of confidence he enjoys in the constituency.

He has been been winning this seat since 1989. This is his eighth consecutive win in the state. Shivakumar secured 1,42,156 votes against the 20,561 votes polled by his Janata Dal (Secular) rival B Nagaraju. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) R Ashoka was in third place with 19,602 votes, a PTI report said.

His victory margin this year was in fact much higher when compared to 2018. That year he had won by 79,909 votes. This is the third win for Shivakumar from the Kanakapura seat since the constancy was formed in 2008 following a delimitation exercise. Prior to this he had represented the Sathanur seat four times.

This is one of the reasons he has been given the nickname 'Kanakapura Rock.'