H. D. Deve Gowda

H. D. Deve Gowda
Gowda in 2015
11th Prime Minister of India[1]
In office
1 June 1996 – 21 April 1997
PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma
Preceded byAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Succeeded byInder Kumar Gujral
President of Janata Dal (Secular)
Assumed office
July 1999
Preceded byPosition Established
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
26 June 2020
Preceded byD. Kupendra Reddy
ConstituencyKarnataka
In office
23 September 1996 – 2 March 1998
Preceded byLeeladevi Renuka Prasad
Succeeded byA. Laxmisagar
ConstituencyKarnataka
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
1 June 1996 – 28 June 1996
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byMurli Manohar Joshi
Succeeded byIndrajit Gupta
8th Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office
11 December 1994 – 31 May 1996
GovernorKhurshed Alam Khan
Preceded byVeerappa Moily
Succeeded byJayadevappa Halappa Patel
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
17 May 2004 – 23 May 2019
Preceded byG. Puttaswamy Gowda
Succeeded byPrajwal Revanna
ConstituencyHassan, Karnataka
In office
2 February 2002 – 16 May 2004
Preceded byM. V. Chandrashekara Murthy
Succeeded byTejashwini Sreeramesh
ConstituencyKanakapura, Karnataka
In office
10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999
Preceded byRudresh Gowda
Succeeded byG. Puttaswamy Gowda
ConstituencyHassan, Karnataka
In office
20 June 1991 – 11 December 1994
Preceded byH.C Srikantaiah
Succeeded byRudresh Gowda
ConstituencyHassan, Karnataka
Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly
In office
1994 (1994)–1996 (1996)
Preceded byCM Lingappa
Succeeded byCM Lingappa
ConstituencyRamanagara
In office
1962 (1962)–1989 (1989)
Preceded byY. Veerappa
Succeeded byG. Puttaswamy Gowda
ConstituencyHolenarasipur
Personal details
Born (1933-05-18) 18 May 1933 (age 90)
Haradanahalli, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
(present-day Karnataka, India)
Political partyJanata Dal (Secular)
(1999–present)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
Chennamma
(m. 1954)
Children6 children; including H. D. Revanna,
H. D. Kumaraswamy
EducationDiploma in Civil Engineering
Alma materL. V. Polytechnic, Hassan
ProfessionPolitician, Farmer, Civil engineer
Signature
Websitehddevegowda.in
Nickname(s)Mannina Maga
Dodda Gowdaru

Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (pronunciation; born 18 May 1933)[3] is an Indian politician who served as the 11th prime minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997.[4][5] He was previously the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. He presently is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka. He is the national president of the Janata Dal (Secular) party.[6] Born in a farming family, he joined the Indian National Congress party in 1953, and remained a member until 1962. He was imprisoned during the Emergency. He became President of the state unit of Janata Dal in 1994, and was considered to be a driving force in the party's victory in Karnataka. He served as the 8th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. In the 1996 general elections, no party won enough seats to form a government. When the United Front, a coalition of regional parties, formed the central government with the support of the Congress, Deve Gowda was unexpectedly chosen to head the government and was elected Prime Minister. During his tenure as prime minister, he also served as Home Minister for some time. His prime ministerial tenure lasted for less than a year. After his prime ministerial tenure, he was elected to the 12th (1998), 14th (2004), 15th, and 16th Lok Sabha, as Member of Parliament for the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency. He lost Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from Tumkuru but has been elected to Rajya Sabha since.[7]

Early life[edit]

H. D. Deve Gowda was born on 18 May 1933 in Haradanahalli, a village in Holenarasipura Taluk, of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore (now in Hassan, Karnataka). His father Dodde Gowda was a paddy farmer and mother, Devamma was a home maker.[8][9]

Gowda earned a diploma in civil engineering from L. V. Polytechnic, Hassan, in the early 1950s.[10]

Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh
Deve Gowda and Narendra Modi

Politics[edit]

Gowda joined the Indian National Congress party in 1953 and remained a member until 1962. During that period, he was President of Anjaneya Cooperative Society of Holenarasipura and later became a member of the Taluk Development Board of Holenarasipura.

In 1962, Gowda was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Holenarasipura constituency as an independent candidate. Later, he was elected from the same constituency to the Assembly for six consecutive terms from 1962 to 1989. He joined the Congress (O) during the Congress split and served as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly from March 1972 to March 1976 and again from November 1976 to December 1977.[11] During the Emergency (1975–77), he was imprisoned in the Bangalore Central Jail.

Gowda was the two time President of state unit of the Janata Party. He continued to win from Holenarasipur assembly segment on Janata Party's ticket in 1978, 1983 and 1985. He served as a minister in the Janata Party Government in Karnataka headed by Ramakrishna Hegde from 1983 to 1988. When V P Singh joined Janata Dal, Subramanian Swamy formed Janata Party (Jaya Prakash) faction, and Deve Gowda joined him to become Janata Party (JP)'s Karnataka President. But he lost from Holenarasipur in 1989, and soon later rejoined Janata Dal.[12] He became President of the state unit of Janata Dal in 1994 and was the driving force behind the victory of the party in the 1994 State Assembly elections. He was elected from the Ramanagara, and sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka in December.

In January 1995, Gowda toured Switzerland and attended the Forum of International Economists. His tour to Singapore brought in foreign investment to the State.[3]

Prime Minister[edit]

In the 1996 general elections, the Congress party headed by P. V. Narasimha Rao lost decisively but no other party won enough seats to form a government.

When the United Front (a conglomeration of non-Congress and non-BJP regional parties) decided to form the Government at the Centre with the support of the Congress, Deve Gowda was unexpectedly chosen to head the government and became the 11th Prime Minister of India.[6] He took over as Prime Minister of India on 1 June 1996 and continued until 21 April 1997. Also, he was the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the United Front, the policy making apex body of all the constituents of the ruling front.[6] He is credited for providing financial closure and kickstarting development of the Delhi Metro Project.[13]

Post-premiership[edit]

The Janata Dal (Secular) traces its roots back to the Janata Dal founded by V. P. Singh.

The Janata Dal was formed on the merger of the Janata Party with smaller opposition parties in 1988. Vishwanath Pratap Singh became the first Prime Minister of India from Janata Dal when he headed the National Front government in 1989. Later Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral too became prime ministers heading the United Front (UF) coalition governments in 1996 and 1997 respectively.[citation needed]

In 1999, when some senior leaders of the party decided to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA, the party split into factions. Many leaders, including Madhu Dandawate and Siddaramaiah, joined the Janata Dal (Secular) faction headed by Deve Gowda, who became the National president of this faction.[citation needed]

He was defeated in the 1999 general elections.

The 2004 elections in Karnataka witnessed the revival of his party's fortunes under the leadership of Siddaramaiah with the Janata Dal (Secular) winning 58 seats and becoming a part of the ruling coalition in the state. Later, the party joined with the BJP and formed an alternate government in 2006. His son H. D. Kumaraswamy headed the BJP-JD(S) coalition government in the state for 20 months.[14][15] In the 2008 state elections, the party performed poorly and won just 28 seats, but it has remained a significant force in South Karnataka.[citation needed]

Deve Gowda expelled Siddaramaiah and CM Ibrahim JDS party, because Siddaramaiah led AHINDA[16][17][18] movement; representing minority, backward, and Dalit people in Karnataka.[19] Later, both Siddaramaiah and CM Ibrahim joined the Indian National Congress,[20] which won the 2013 Vidhana Sabha election. Siddaramaiah was elected as the Chief Minister of Karnataka state in 2013.[21]

In 2008, JDS did not transfer the power to BJP with B. S. Yediyurappa as CM in accord to the initial negotiation.[22][23][24] This led to major setback for JDS in 2008 vidhana sabha election, JDS received only 28 seats[25] compared to 58 seats[26] in the 2004 vidhana sabha election. Since B. S. Yediyurappa is from Lingayath community, largest in the Karnataka state, many leaders in JDS from Lingayath community such as M. P. Prakash quit the party.[27] B. S. Yediyurappa was elected as the Chief Minister of Karnataka state in 2008.[28] Deve Gowda abused B. S. Yediyurappa, who was then chief minister of Karnataka.[29][30] This event was termed as "new low in Indian politics".[31] Gowda later apologised for hurling abuse at the chief minister of Karnataka.[32]

Deve Gowda contested the 2019 general elections against G. S. Basavaraj in Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency of Karnataka. G. S. Basavaraj, BJP candidate of Tumkur Constituency won against Deve Gowda by a margin of 13,339 votes. G. S. Basavaraj polled 5,96,127 votes while Deve Gowda got 5,82,788 votes.[33]

Personal life[edit]

He married Chennamma in 1954. They have six children together: four sons, including politicians H. D. Revanna and H. D. Kumaraswamy, who is the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, and two daughters.[34]

Electoral history[edit]

Legislative Assembly Elections
Year Constituency Party Result Votes Opposition Candidate Opposition Party Opposition votes Ref
1962 Holenarasipur IND Won 12,622 H. D. Doddegowda INC 7,338 [35]
1967 Holenarasipur IND Won 20,594 H. D. Doddegowda INC 12,191 [35]
1972 Holenarasipur INC(O) Won 26,639 K. Kumaraswamy INC 20,475 [35]
1978 Holenarasipur JNP Won 33,992 K. Kumaraswamy INC 28,472 [35]
1983 Holenarasipur JNP Won 37,239 K. Kumaraswamy INC 28,158 [35]
1985 Holenarasipur JNP Won 41,230 G. Puttaswamy Gowda IND 38,063 [35]
1985 Sathanur JNP Won 45,612 D. K. Shivakumar INC 29,809 [36]
1989 Holenarasipur JNP Lost 45,461 G. Puttaswamy Gowda INC 53,297 [35]
1994 Ramanagara JD Won 47,986 C. M. Lingappa INC 38,392 [37]
Parliament Elections
Year Constituency Party Result Votes Opposition Candidate Opposition Party Opposition votes Ref
1991 Hassan JNP Won 2,60,761 H. C. Srikantaiah INC 2,57,570 [38]
1998 Hassan JD Won 3,36,407 H. C. Srikantaiah INC 3,04,753 [38]
1999 Hassan JD(S) Lost 2,56,587 G. Putta Swamy Gowda INC 3,98,344 [38]
2002
(bypoll)
Kanakapura JD(S) Won 5,81,709 D. K. Shivakumar INC 5,29,133 [39]
2004 Hassan JD(S) Won 4,62,625 H. C. Srikantaiah INC 2,72,320 [38]
2004 Kanakapura JD(S) Lost 4,62,320 Tejashwini Sreeramesh INC 2,72,320 [40]
2009 Hassan JD(S) Won 4,96,429 K. H. Hanume Gowda BJP 2,05,316 [38]
2014 Hassan JD(S) Won 5,09,841 A. Manju INC 4,09,379 [38]
2019 Tumkur JD(S) Lost 5,82,788 G. S. Basavaraj BJP 5,96,127 [41]

Positions held[edit]

Deve Gowda giving a speech

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Depar of Justice; Ministry of Law & Justice; Government of India. "H. D. Deve Gowda". doj.gov.in. Retrieved 13 December 2021. [H. D.] Deve Gowda [...] served as the 11th Prime Minister of India from June 1996 to April 1997.
  2. ^ "Leaders of the Opposition of Karnataka Legislative Assembly since 1962". kla.kar.nic.in. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Shri H. D. Deve Gowda". pmindia.gov.in. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. ^ Press Trust of India (25 February 2015). "I will not contest any more elections: Deve Gowda". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2021. Gowda became the 12th Prime Minister in June 1996.
  5. ^ "Britannica article". Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "JDS Leader: H. D. Deve Gowda Profile". janata.in. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Hassan Election Result 2019". Times Now. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Asiaweek article". Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  9. ^ "New Indian Express article". Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Deve Gowda goes down memory lane". The Hindu. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Janata Dal (Secular)". Janatadalsecular.org.in. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Holenarasipur Assembly Constituency Election Result - Legislative Assembly Constituency".
  13. ^ "The derailment of E Sreedharan". TOI. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Janata Dal Secular". Janata.in. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Janata Dal (Secular)". Janatadalsecular.org.in. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Siddaramaiah under pressure to revive AHINDA". The Hindu. 23 June 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  17. ^ "AHINDA leaders divided over Siddaramaiah's likely pact with BJP". The Hindu. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Ahinda movement will be strengthened to prevent Dalits from joining Hindutva fold". The Times of India. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  19. ^ "JD(S) to expel Siddaramaiah, Ibrahim". The Hindu. 2 October 2005. Archived from the original on 29 May 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  20. ^ "Siddaramaiah joins Congress". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  21. ^ "Siddaramaiah to be sworn-in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday". NDTV.com. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  22. ^ "BJP's assessment of JD(S) was wrong: Venkaiah Naidu". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 12 May 2013.[dead link]
  23. ^ "JDS did not betray BJP, says Kumaraswamy". India – DNA. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  24. ^ "BJP says its Betrayal withdraws Support to JDS in Karnataka". Daijiworld. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  25. ^ "Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2008". Elections in India. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  26. ^ "Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2004". Elections in India. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  27. ^ "Prakash-led rebel group quits JD-S in Karnataka". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  28. ^ "Yeddyurappa sworn-in as Karnataka Chief Minister". Oneindia News. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  29. ^ "Former PM Deve Gowda abuses Karnataka CM". DNA India. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  30. ^ "Former PM Gowda calls CM Yeddyurappa a bloody bastard". The Times of India. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  31. ^ "New low in politics, Gowda abuses Yeddyurappa". NDTV. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  32. ^ "Deve Gowda abuses Yeddyurappa, then says sorry". Rediff.com. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  33. ^ "Lok Sabha election results 2019: Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda loses to BJP's GS Basavaraju in Tumkur". CNBCTV18. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  34. ^ Baweja, Harinder (31 January 1997). "The taste of power". India Today. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g "Holenarasipur (Karnataka) Assembly Constituency Elections". elections.in. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  36. ^ "Sathanur Assembly Constituency Election Result - Legislative Assembly Constituency". resultuniversity.com. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Ramanagaram (Karnataka) Assembly Constituency Elections". elections.in. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  38. ^ a b c d e f "Hassan Parliamentary Constituency Election and Results Update". elections.in. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  39. ^ "PC Bye Election: Kanakapura 2002". indiavotes.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  40. ^ 2004 General Election eci.gov.in[dead link]
  41. ^ "Tumkur Parliamentary Constituency Election and Results Update". elections.in. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  42. ^ "Karnataka Assembly Election Results in 1972".
  43. ^ "The Man Who Would be PM | Outlook India Magazine". 6 February 2022.
  44. ^ "Karnataka Assembly Election Results in 1989".
  45. ^ "1999 India General (13th Lok Sabha) Elections Results".
  46. ^ "IndiaVotes | India's largest election database".
  47. ^ "Sacrifice for grandsons proves costly for Deve Gowda, he loses Tumkur". The News Minute. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  48. ^ "Lok Sabha". Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  49. ^ "H D Deve Gowda takes oath as Rajya Sabha member". Hindustan Times Minute. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of India
1996–1997
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) Party in the 16th Lok Sabha
2014–present
Incumbent