H. D. Deve Gowda

Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (born 18 May 1933) is an Indian politician who served as the 11th prime minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Janata Dal was formed on the merger of the Janata Party with smaller opposition parties in 1988.

But he lost from Holenarasipur in 1989, and soon later rejoined Janata Dal.

Vishwanath Pratap Singh became the first Prime Minister of India from Janata Dal when he headed the National Front government in 1989.

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.

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.

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.

In January 1995, Gowda toured Switzerland and attended the Forum of International Economists.

His tour to Singapore brought in foreign investment to the State.

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.

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.

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.

He is credited for providing financial closure and kickstarting development of the Delhi Metro Project.

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

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.

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.

He was elected from the Ramanagara, and sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka in December.

He lost Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from Tumkuru but has been elected to Rajya Sabha since.