In this Indian name, the name Haradanahalli Doddegowda is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Deve Gowda.
Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (pronunciationⓘ; born 18 May 1933)[3] is an Indian politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997.[4][5] He was previously the 14thChief 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 8thChief 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 after V. P. Singh and Jyoti Basu declined the post [7][8]and he 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.[9]
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.[13] 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.[14] 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]
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 11thPrime 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.[15]
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]
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.[16][17] 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]
In 2008, JDS did not transfer the power to BJP with B. S. Yediyurappa as CM in accord to the initial negotiation.[24][25][26] This led to major setback for JDS in 2008 vidhana sabha election, JDS received only 28 seats[27] compared to 58 seats[28] 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.[29] B. S. Yediyurappa was elected as the Chief Minister of Karnataka state in 2008.[30] Deve Gowda abused B. S. Yediyurappa, who was then chief minister of Karnataka.[31][32] This event was termed as "new low in Indian politics".[33] Gowda later apologised for hurling abuse at the chief minister of Karnataka.[34]
Gowda was a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly twice, from 1962 to 1989, and later from 1994 to 1996. From 1972 to 1976, he was the Leader of Opposition,[44] and the Karnataka State President of the Janata Party (Jaya Prakash) faction in 1989.[45][46] In 1991, Gowda was elected to 10th Lok Sabha from Hassan, and in three years after, became a Member, Committee on Commerce of the parliament.
^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.
