DK Shivakumar, the Congress's trouble-shooter in Karnataka, has delivered results, once again. He was assigned the job of taking back Ballari, a Congress stronghold since independence, which has stayed with the BJP in the past 14 years. Mission accomplished. "A tough challenge was given to me by my party; I thank my leaders for restoring their confidence in me," Mr Shivakumar told NDTV, offering sweets from the boxes piled up on his coffee table.