From meeting astrologers as a teenager to recalling predictions about his political rise, the Karnataka chief minister’s faith offers a glimpse into the personal beliefs he has carried through decades in public life.
Whenever Congress leader Jairam Ramesh visits D K Shivakumar’s home, he often finds a puja or havan underway. It is a practice that has remained part of the Karnataka chief minister’s life for years, reflecting a personal side of a politician better known for his organisational skills, political negotiations and ability to navigate crises.
Ramesh, who said he had known Shivakumar for decades, pointed to the frequency of religious rituals at his residence as an unusual feature of his personal life. He observed that it was rare to find homes where puja-path continued so regularly throughout the year.
The remark offered a glimpse into a side of Shivakumar that is not often at the centre of public discussion: his long-standing interest in astrology and religious rituals, and the place they occupy in his understanding of life and politics.
Shivakumar traced his interest in astrology to his teenage years. He said he began meeting astrologers when he was around 13 or 14 and has since consulted hundreds. For him, astrology is not simply a matter of faith. He described it as a science rooted in mathematics and said he had encountered astrologers who, according to him, could accurately tell him details about his family and personal life, including his wife’s and parents’ names, his age, and his business.
Over the years, he said, some astrologers had made predictions about his political career that he later associated with events in his life.
“Before I became a minister, they had predicted that I would become a minister for a short time,” Shivakumar recalled, adding that he served as a minister for only two years.
He also recounted a prediction made when he was already a minister. According to Shivakumar, astrologers had told him that he would not be given a ticket to contest an election but would still win by a narrow margin. He said he eventually won by around 562 votes.
Shivakumar also recalled being told, before he became a minister, that he would go on to serve as chief minister for eight years. He referred to other predictions about his political rise, including some that he said had identified the timing of his elevation to the state’s top post.
Shivakumar spoke about these predictions as experiences that had strengthened his belief in astrology. He said he regarded it as “truly a science”, pointing to instances in which astrologers had, in his account, offered precise details about his life and anticipated developments in his political journey.
But he was more guarded when asked whether astrologers had made predictions about his political future in 2029. He declined to discuss the matter publicly, saying he did not want his remarks to become a controversy or a headline. He suggested that the details could be discussed in a personal conversation.
His response reflected a distinction between his willingness to speak about past predictions and his reluctance to publicly disclose what he may have been told about the future. For a politician whose career has been closely watched in Karnataka, even a personal remark about an astrological forecast can quickly acquire political significance.
Shivakumar’s political ambitions, however, are not confined to what astrologers may have told him. Speaking about his responsibilities in the Congress, he said party leader Rahul Gandhi had given him the opportunity to work in Bengaluru and that his duty was to bring the party back to power in Karnataka.
Now at the helm of the state government, Shivakumar has expressed confidence in the Congress’s prospects in the 2028 Assembly elections, saying he understands the pulse of Karnataka. He recalled predicting before the previous Assembly election that the Congress would win 136 seats, a figure that matched the party’s eventual tally. His confidence about 2028 remains his own political assessment.
The remarks came during an interaction with journalists in New Delhi, where Shivakumar spoke about his long public life and his relationship with the media. He said that, after around 40 years in politics, he wanted to meet journalists who had written both positively and critically about him. He added that he had taken criticism sportingly and learnt from it, describing the media as a pillar of democracy.
The interaction also touched on difficult periods in his political career, including moments when he had to manage political pressure and negotiations. Shivakumar thanked journalists for their support during challenging times and said he had emerged successfully from those episodes.
Yet it was his account of astrology and the role it has played in his life that offered a more personal dimension to the interaction. His recollections brought together religious observance, consultations with astrologers and the political milestones he believes some of them had anticipated.
For Shivakumar, astrology appears to be a continuing personal reference point rather than a subject he is willing to discuss without limits. He was ready to recall predictions about his ministerial career, election prospects and rise to the chief minister’s office, but chose not to reveal what he may have been told about the years ahead.
As chief minister, his stated political goal is to lead the Congress into the 2028 Assembly elections and bring the party back to power. Beyond that, he has kept his comments on astrological predictions private.
The contrast between the two sides of his account is striking: a politician publicly focused on governance, electoral goals and party responsibilities, and a person who has, since adolescence, sought guidance from astrologers and maintained a regular place for puja and havan in his home. Together, they paint a portrait of a leader whose public life and private beliefs have evolved in tandem.
