Karnataka elections 2023: DK Shivakumar breaks down, recalls time when Sonia Gandhi met him in jail

Karnataka Assembly elections: Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is leading from the Kanakapura assembly constituency, broke down on Saturday after the Congress party crossed the halfway mark. While speaking to the media, Shivakumar said he had promised Sonia Gandhi that he will deliver Karnataka. 

He added that he cannot forget when Sonia Gandhi had come to meet him in Delhi's Tihar jail in 2020 after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case. 

Shivakumar, a close aide of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, was appointed president of the Karnataka Congress in 2020. 

"I assured Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge that I will deliver Karnataka. I can't forget Sonia Gandhi coming to meet me in jail," said Shivakumar. 

The Karnataka Congress chief added: "The Congress office is our temple. We will decide our next step at the Congress office." 

Shivakumar is an old Congress hand and a six-time MLA from Karnataka. He represented Sathanur Assembly constituency in Mysuru district in 1994, 1999 and 2004. He won from Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara district near Bengaluru in 2008, 2013, and 2018. 

Shivakumar has served as the minister of irrigation in the previous HD Kumaraswamy-led government in the state. He also served as the Minister of Energy in Siddaramaiah-led then Karnataka government. 

He played a crucial role in the formation of the coalition government of Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka following the 2018 state election. 

Also read: Karnataka Election Result 2023 LIVE: Defeat not new to BJP, says Yediyurappa as Congress heads for majority

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