DK Shivakumar Wins By Over 1 Lakh Votes; Breaks Down After Cong's Landslide Win

DK Shivakumar has been elected as an MLA from the state for the eighth time.

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar is contesting the 2023 Assembly Elections from Kanakapura constituency in Ramnagaram. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar has retained the Kanakapura Assembly constituency, which falls under the Ramanagaram district of the state in the 2023 Assembly Elections

Shivakumar has by a margin of over 1.2 lakh votes, according to official figures released by the Election Commission of India on Saturday, 13 May. As of 4 PM, this is the highest margin of victory in any constituency.

Seen as a CM-hopeful, Shivakumar defeated R Ashok from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate B Nagaraju in the 2023 polls.

Shivakumar polled 1.42 lakh votes, well ahead of Nagaraju at a little over 20,000 votes and Ashoka at about 19,000.

In the 2013 Assembly election, Shivakumar won from the same constituency, while JD(S) candidate PGR Sindhia came in second. Shivakumar's streak continued in 2018, with JD(S) candidate Narayana Gowda as the runner-up.

Shivakumar's Success as Karnataka Congress Chief

Shivakumar had taken over as Karnataka Congress chief in 2020, a year after the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections - it had won only 1 seat out of 28, that too Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh from Bengaluru Rural.

As the state Congress chief, Shivakumar proved his mettle as a mobiliser during marches like Mekedatu Dam yatra, the Freedom March and even the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

DK Shivakumar with his campaign team. 

DK Shivakumar Twitter page

Under him, the Congress membership drive in Karnataka was also highly successful as the party enrolled 70 lakh people digitally and 45 lakh in person.

Shivakumar hired the company DesignBoxed headed by Naresh Arora, that handled his personal campaign.

During the campaign too, Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah worked together, contrary to predictions that they won't be able to coordinate. A video put out by the Congress a few days before polling showed Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar having a frank discussion on their plans for the state.