Karnataka: DK Shivakumar upset, with Congress or babus?

Bengaluru: A power minister sans the power to decide on tickets and strategy during the forthcoming Assembly polls? That's something which the irrepressible D.K . Shivakumar finds difficult to digest. Which explains why he was not in the best of moods on Friday, a day after he lost out in the race for KPCC president to Dr G. Parameshwar.

 The cool, cool 'DKS,' as he is known in political circles, is increasingly losing his cool and even vent his ire on energy department officials  for not handling power sector issues efficiently. He is feeling the heat, said sources, especially after the pre-monsoon showers with people bombarding him with the choiciest of abuses just because some official in a sub-station had fouled up.

It was  a different Shivakumar officials encountered on Friday at a meeting held at his residence, where he showered them with queries like how many calls each of them had received during the recent power crisis and how many were resolved. Slamming them for their negligence, he said he had to face the ire of the public for no fault of his.

  "I am  fed up with this department. But I have to solve people's problems holding this portfolio," he muttered. A man from Shivamogga who thought he could get away lightly after calling him on his mobile and abusing him for poor maintenance of the power system, is now facing a police complaint. This is  not the Shivakumar, the people know.