Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar (born 15 May 1962), known as D. K. Shivakumar or DKS, is an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress who has been Chief Minister of Karnataka since 3 June 2026. A legislator since 1989 and long regarded as his party’s chief organiser and troubleshooter, he was president of its Karnataka unit during the election victory of 2023 and served as Deputy Chief Minister for three years.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar |
| Born | 15 May 1962, Doddalahalli, Kanakapura taluk, Karnataka |
| Age | 64 |
| Party | Indian National Congress |
| Offices | Chief Minister of Karnataka (since June 2026); Deputy Chief Minister (2023–2026); President, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (from 2020) |
| Constituency | Kanakapura |
| Spouse | Usha Shivakumar |
| Children | 3 |
Early Life
He was born in the village of Doddalahalli near Kanakapura, south of Bangalore, into a farming family of the Vokkaliga community. He studied in Bangalore and became active in student politics and the Youth Congress while still at college.
Career
Early rise
In 1985, aged twenty-three, he contested the assembly seat of Sathanur against H. D. Deve Gowda, the dominant Vokkaliga leader of the region, and lost. He won the seat in 1989 and has been elected at every assembly election since, from Sathanur and then from Kanakapura. He became a minister in his late twenties in the government of S. Bangarappa.
Minister
He held the portfolios of urban development under S. M. Krishna, whom he regarded as his mentor, energy from 2014 to 2018 and water resources in the coalition government of 2018–19.
Troubleshooter
The Congress has repeatedly turned to him in a crisis. In 2017 he sheltered the party’s legislators from Gujarat at a resort near Bangalore to prevent defections before a Rajya Sabha election. He played a similar part when the Karnataka coalition was under threat in 2018 and 2019.
Investigations
Income tax officers searched his properties in August 2017, during the Gujarat episode. In September 2019 the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in a money-laundering case, and he spent about fifty days in Tihar Jail before being granted bail. He has called the cases political vendetta. In 2024 the Supreme Court quashed the money-laundering proceedings. A separate investigation into his assets continued.
He is among the wealthiest politicians in the country by the declarations in his election papers.
The 2023 victory
Appointed president of the party in Karnataka in 2020, he rebuilt its organisation and led a long march against a dam dispute and a campaign on corruption. In May 2023 the Congress won 135 of the 224 seats. Both he and the senior leader Siddaramaiah claimed the chief ministership. The party made Siddaramaiah Chief Minister and Shivakumar his only deputy, with the Bengaluru development and water resources portfolios, amid reports of an understanding that the post would change hands in mid-term.
Chief Minister
After three years of speculation, Siddaramaiah resigned on 29 May 2026. Shivakumar was elected leader of the legislature party and sworn in as the eighteenth Chief Minister of Karnataka on 3 June 2026.
Personal Life
He is married to Usha; they have two daughters, Aishwarya and Aabharana, and a son, Aakash. His younger brother, D. K. Suresh, was a member of the Lok Sabha. He is a devotee of several temples and mathas and is known for consulting astrologers. His family runs educational institutions in Bengaluru.
Featured image: D. K. Shivakumar speaking in May 2026. Photo by DAR.45m, licensed under CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
