One man with courage makes a majority, says D.K. Shivakumar

Seemingly sending a message of optimism and eyeing the post of chief minister, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar made a loaded statement in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, saying, “Politics is the art of the possible and I believe a brave man makes up the majority.”

This statement came in response to Opposition Leader R. Ashok’s comments that his camp was confused because there were not enough MLAs on his side as the “team of 56 Congress MLAs” whom he thought were on his side were dealing with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s camp.

In response, Mr. Shivakumar said, “Political decisions are not taken based on numbers. We have seen in both our parties that decisions are taken by the party and not by the (arithmetic) power of MLAs. We have seen how Chief Ministers and even Cabinets change in your party (BJP).”

Referring to the saying “Politics is the art of the possible”, he said, “I believe that a man with courage will ensure majority. With faith and determination, one can have 140 MLAs and even more. Let’s see what will happen in 2028 (Assembly polls).”

The issue came to the fore when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, during his reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s speech, told the Deputy Chief Minister that the BJP was accusing them of harboring enmity. “They say you are milk (hi) and I’m sweet but there is hahaaha (The poison released during the mythological churning of the ocean) is among us.”

In response, Mr. Shivakumar simply said: “Time will answer everything.”

Taking a cue from this, Mr. Ashok surmised that the Deputy Chief Minister was confused about getting enough MLAs to support him. He further said: “His social media posts these days confuse everyone as they imply multiple meanings.”

Mr. Shivakumar responded as follows: “All 139 MLAs, including Mr. Siddaramaiah, are my strength. Mr. Siddaramaiah is with me 100%. Let there be no doubt about it. We are working together and will continue to do so in the future. I have stood by him in his difficult times and will continue to do so. He will stand by me in my difficult times. Make no mistake about it.”

On a philosophical note, he said: “I have seen and survived many ups and downs in politics, including being in prison. I will complete six years as KPCC president next month.”