Karnataka   

Deve Gowda, the kingmaker, turns 75

Shama Sunder

"As Prime Minister he brought reforms in the farm sector"

HASSAN: Janata Dal (S) president and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda turns 75 on Friday. All through his political career, Mr. Deve Gowda has been a kingmaker.

Born in a backward village Haradanahalli in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district on May 18, 1933, he went on to become Chief Minister and then Prime Minister.

T.S.R. Subramaniam, who was Cabinet Secretary when Mr. Deve Gowda was Prime Minister, wrote in his autobiography, "Had Mr. Deve Gowda completed the full term of five years, then he would have been the best Prime Minister after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru."

It was during his tenure as Prime Minister that Mr. Deve Gowda brought reforms in the agricultural sector.

Mr. Deve Gowda studied in the government polytechnic in Hassan and worked as a civil contractor. He entered politics by becoming taluk development board member from Holenarsipur. When the Congress did not give him the party ticket, he contested as an independent and won from the Holenarsipur Assembly constituency in 1962.

In 1964, he moved a private member's Bill on irrigation projects in Cauvery basin and this was passed unanimously, creating history in the State legislature. He was elected again as an independent from Holenarsipur in 1967 and in 1969. He became Leader of the Opposition in 1969 when D. Devaraj Urs was Chief Minister.

After Emergency was imposed, he was put in jail along with Ramakrishna Hegde and others. The Janata Party was formed and Mr. Deve Gowda headed the State unit.

In 1978, Mr. Deve Gowda won from Holenarsipur as a Janata Party candidate, but the party did not get majority. Devaraj Urs became Chief Minister for the second time.

In 1989, Mr. Deve Gowda formed the Samajwadi Janata Party. He lost the Assembly election. In 1991, he won the Hassan Lok Sabha seat.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Deve Gowda, the kingmaker, turns 75
Bangalore too will have IT finishing school
Architectural marvel

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu