Bengaluru: The D.K.Shivakumar-H.D.Deve Gowda rivalry has a new chapter with the two political heavyweights in Karnataka clashing over the former’s proposal to develop nearly 7,500 acres of land spread across nine villages of Bengaluru South district at an estimated cost of Rs 18,104 crore.
The rivalry dates back to over four decades during which Shivakumar, the Karnataka deputy chief minister, has crossed swords with Deve Gowda, the Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch, several times in elections.
On Wednesday, Shivakumar said one does not have to take former prime minister H.D.Deve Gowda’s statements seriously. “Earlier, Deve Gowda had said he would leave the country if Narendra Modi won. At that time, Modi had said he would offer space in his house. So, we cannot take everything they say seriously. They change with the times,” Shivakumar, popularly known as DKS, said.
He challenged Deve Gowda’s son and Union Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy to sit down for a debate on the township project. Shivakumar also called Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy a “boy” even though the 36-year-old is the heir apparent to the JD(S).
Earlier, Shivakumar’s brother and former Bengaluru Rural Member of Parliament, D.K.Suresh, had called Kumaraswamy the “King of Liars”.
This followed a rare joke made by Deve Gowda, where the nonagenarian suggested he would speak to Shivakumar only after the Deputy CM is “beaten up by farmers in Bidadi.”
But that has been the nature of the relationship between two of Karnataka’s most recognisable political leaders and their respective families. The feud between Shivakumar and Deve Gowda is one of the longest surviving political battles in the contemporary political landscape.
Deve Gowda, who celebrated his 94th birthday Monday, has even shot off a letter to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, alleging widespread ‘land grab’ in India’s IT capital, indirectly pointing fingers at Shivakumar who additionally holds the Bengaluru development portfolio.
“Deve Gowda should write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his other leaders. What is the point of writing to our leaders? Rahul Gandhi is not in power. Why should he interfere in all this? Why couldn’t Deve Gowda do anything?” Shivakumar said.
The intensifying friction between the two was noticeable when Shivakumar refrained from wishing Deve Gowda on his birthday, signalling a deepening rift.
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The Vokkaliga angle
In his electoral debut, Shivakumar faced Deve Gowda in the erstwhile Sathanur assembly constituency and lost to him. The year was 1985. However, he won on a Congress ticket four years later at Sathanur, intensifying the rivalry between the reigning leader of the dominant Vokkaliga community and its rising challenger.
Deve Gowda’s biographer Sugata Srinivasraju says during this period, Shivakumar was not considered a significant threat even though this was not for a lack of trying.
“In 1994, Deve Gowda came and contested from Ramanagara (assembly constituency) because he gave up Holenarsipura to (H.D.) Revanna. That is when Deve Gowda attempted to consolidate the Vokkaliga community,” Srinivasraju says.
Deve Gowda won from Ramnagara and went on to become the Karnataka chief minister.
Following the death of former Congress minister M.V. Chandrashekar in November 2001, Shivakumar—who was mentored by the Congress leader—saw this as a perfect opportunity to expand his influence in the Vokkaliga heartland.
On the other hand, Deve Gowda, who had lost the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from Hassan, also threw his hat in the 2002 Kanakapura Lok Sabha bypolls. Deve Gowda won against Shivakumar and K.S. Eshwarappa of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
In the 2004 general elections, Shivakumar fielded former journalist Tejaswini Ramesh and handed Deve Gowda a surprise defeat in Kanakapura.
But, it was only when S.M. Krishna became the chief minister in 1999 that Shivakumar turned into a big player, analysts say, adding that he went from strength-to-strength, getting closer to the Congress high command, managing party finances and earning a reputation as a ‘troubleshooter’.
The same year, Shivakumar handed Kumaraswamy his first defeat in the 1999 assembly elections in Sathanur.
As Kumaraswamy shifted base to Ramanagara, Shivakumar’s growing political stature ensured he consolidated power, remained a formidable opponent and refused to cede ground to the Gowda family.
Over the decades, Shivakumar and the Gowdas have found common ground with both working to help each other, indicating a complex and dynamic relationship that changed with political realities.
Political analyst Srinivasraju says there are instances when Shivakumar and Deve Gowda helped each other electorally as well.
For instance, the camaraderie between Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government raised hope for an amicable solution to an intensifying feud.
This didn’t last long. Fourteen months to be precise, as 17 members of the coalition defected to the BJP. In 2019, Kumaraswamy’s actor-son Nikhil lost in the high-profile Mandya Lok Sabha seat, despite the alliance with the Congress.
In the 2023 state elections, Shivakumar defeated Nikhil in Ramanagara. Deve Gowda then helped the BJP defeat Shivakumar’s brother D.K.Suresh in Bengaluru Rural in the 2024 general elections. The winning candidate was none other than Deve Gowda’s son-in-law C.N.Manjunath of the BJP.
In November 2024, Shivakumar got one back, handing Nikhil his third defeat in the Channapatna bypolls.
Although Deve Gowda has largely watched the feud continuing between his son Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar from the sidelines, the latter has now entered the fray with Bidadi.
“My struggle starts today,” he declared Tuesday while seated on his wheelchair, accusing Shivakumar of running a ‘real estate mafia’.
Shivakumar hit back, stating that Kumaraswamy initiated the Bidadi township project.
“Kumaraswamy’s brother intimidated people and got properties registered in his name along the PRR road stretch. Kumaraswamy is just daydreaming. Yesterday he said don’t develop Bidadi township—but who started it? He himself issued the notification. Who is running the real estate business? His brother used the PRR road as a pretext to run a real estate racket,” Shivakumar said earlier.
The two sides are unwilling to soften their stands. And, the rivalry continues to strengthen.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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