H. D. Deve Gowda Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About H. D. Deve Gowda

• As a child, Deve Gowda used to assist his father in farming before attending school.

• In his early teenage years, Gowda used to participate in the Congress-led anti-British movements.

• After completing his formal education, Gowda was selected to join the Indian Railways. However, his father did not allow him to do so as he wanted him to stay close to the family.

• He then began working as a road contractor in Karnataka.

• H. D. Deve Gowda entered politics when he was 20 years old by joining the Indian National Congress (INC).

• He left the party in 1962 after the party did not allotted a ticket to him for the Legislative Assembly elections.

• Before becoming a politician, Gowda used to advocate for the issues faced by the farmers in Karnataka.

• While he was in the INC, Gowda served as a member of the Anjaneya Cooperative Society of Holenarasipura as well as the Taluk Development Board of Holenarasipura.
  

  Deve Gowda’s photo taken in the 1960s

• He is one of the few politicians in Karnataka to have been elected six times continuously to the legislative assembly.

• Deve Gowda was arrested by law enforcement agencies in 1975 after the Indira Gandhi-led Indian government implemented a state of emergency. He was arrested under the Maintainance of the Internal Security Act (MISA) for protesting against the central government’s decision to do so. He remained in the Bangalore Central Jail till 1977.
  

  Deve Gowda’s photo taken in 1978

• After becoming the Minister of Irrigation in 1985, he played a very crucial role in implementing several policies that led to an increase in the crop yield in Karnataka, leading to a rise in the income of the farmers.

• Gowda left the ministership of the Irrigation Department in 1987 after protesting against the state government for not allocating sufficient funds to execute development projects.

• After he became the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Gowda went to Switzerland on an invitation to attend the Forum of International Economists.

• As the CM, he played a crucial role in resolving the Idgah Maidan issue at Hubli, which was a point of conflict between the Hindu and the Muslim community.

• He later visited Singapore, where he met many famous personalities. This resulted in investment from Singapore in Karnataka, leading to the development of Bengaluru into an IT hub.

• In 1996, he became the Prime Minister of India after the United Front (a coalition of many non-Congress and non-BJP parties) appointed him as its head.
  

  A photo of Deve Gowda with the South African President Nelson Mandela

• To become the Prime Minister of India, he had to resign from his post as the CM of Karnataka.

• He became a member of the Rajya Sabha to continue serving as the PM as he had not been elected to the parliament.
  

  Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a photo together

• Under his leadership, the metro system in New Delhi was started.

• His government in the centre collapsed in 1997 after the Indian National Congress (INC) brought a no-confidence motion against him, which he failed to clear. Out of 545 votes, his party could receive only 158 votes.
• The INC reportedly brought the motion after the Gowda-led Union government failed to block the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government in coalition in Uttar Pradesh.

• Even though he held the position of PM, he is known to have never let his family or close relatives take advantage of his position. According to The New York Times, at the time of his Prime Ministership, Deva did not help his brother pay a $6,500 debt that he took for farming purposes.

• He formed the Janata Dal (Secular) with Siddaramaiah in 1999 after breaking off with the Janata Party after it supported the BJP-led NDA government in the centre.
  

  A photo of Deve Gowda taken during a press conference in an event organised with the JD(S)

• In 2001, acid was thrown at his wife, Chennamma, and daughter-in-law, Bhavani. The attack was a cause of a family feud with Besava, Deve Gowda’s brother, as Chennamma had earlier stopped Deve from financially helping his brother.

• In 2006, JD(S) and the BJP formed a government in Karnataka in an alliance.

• In May 2013, JD(S) received a setback after its sitting MLA M. P. Prakash resigned from the party along with several others and joined the BJP.

• He is the only Prime Minister of India who has lost three Lok Sabha elections.
  

  Deve Gowda’s photo taken while he was giving a speech during a rally in Karnataka

• He became a Rajya Sabha MP in 2020 after failing to enter the parliament as a Lok Sabha MP.
  

  A photo of H. D. Deve Gowda taken while he was giving a speech in Rajya Sabha

• As a part of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation under the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, he once visited London.

• As of April 2024, Gowda’s party, JD(S), is in an alliance with the NDA.
  

  Deve Gowda with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

• He is a follower of Balagangadharnath Swamiji.

• He does yoga every day.
  

  Deve Gowda doing yoga

• In an interview, H. D. Deve Gowda revealed that he used to consume non-vegetarian. However, he turned vegetarian after he saw the cruelty the animals suffered at the slaughterhouses.

• He is very spiritual and reads Aditya Hrudayam, a Hindu scripture dedicated to the sun, after waking up.

• His staple diet is mudde (ragi ball) and soppu saaru (greens curry). For breakfast, he prefers eating idli, dosa, and vegetables.

• Before entering national politics, Deve was not well-versed in Hindi. He learned the language after becoming Prime Minister of India.

• He is a strong believer in astrology. As per him, he never makes any decision without consulting the Gowda family astrologer.

• In an interview, Deve Gowda revealed that he finds it difficult to sleep while campaigning for his party in the elections. To sleep, he often has to consume sleeping pills.

• He is an avid traveller and has visited many places in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

• In April 2024, the JD(S) expelled his grandson, Prajwal Revanna, from the party after many women of sexual assault accused him.