The Karnataka politician has been given to believe he can be Prime Minister again
In 1996, the self-proclaimed humble farmer from Hardanahalli village in Karnataka stunned himself, the political firmament and the nation at large by being catapulted to the office of Prime Minister. In 2009, Hardanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda, now 76, was fired up again – due to astrologers’ prophesies that he would make his way up to Raisina Hill once again. So Deve Gowda took the initiative to launch the Third Front from his home state. So what if some leaders like the BSP’s Mayawati were conspicuously absent? More important was his gung-ho equation with the Left leaders. After all, it was the late Harkishen Singh Surjeet of the CPI(M) who rolled the dice in favour of Deve Gowda as the compromise candidate for PM of the United Front, a motley coalition of 13 parties which lasted about 11months from June 1, 1996 to 21 April 1997.
In several ways, Deve Gowda’s elevation as India’s eleventh Prime Minister marked a transition from the domination of upper-caste, university-educated Brahmins. His rise to power reflected the changing power matrix from one dominated by politicians in the North with bases in the Hindi heartland where most of the country’s 300 million Hindi-speaking population lives.
Prime Ministership was something Deve Gowda had not aspired to even in his wildest dreams. He had once remarked, ‘I am a rude politician with not too many niceties. I know my limitations and will not cross the borders of Karnataka’
Prime Ministership was something Deve Gowda had not aspired to even in his wildest dreams. He had once remarked, “I am a rude politician with not too many niceties. I know my limitations and will not cross the borders of Karnataka.” As Prime Minister, he faced considerable criticism. His government was lampooned for being the least experienced the country had seen over five decades. He was criticised for having only a handful of ministerial colleagues who had wielded power at the national level. It seemed that for him the job was no different from the only other one he had known till then, as Minister for Irrigation and Public Works in Karnataka.
Remembered in his village as a poor boy who herded sheep after school, Deve Gowda studied by candlelight while in primary school… he learnt farming and civil engineering and worked briefly as a small-time contractor
Remembered in his village as a poor boy who herded sheep after school, Deve Gowda studied by candlelight while in primary school. The son of a lower caste farmer who worked three acres of land, he learnt farming and civil engineering and worked briefly as a small-time contractor. Then, a Brahmin journalist friend advised him to join politics.
He joined the Congress and remained in it till 1962, when he won the Assembly poll from Holenarasipur as an Independent. In 1975 he was jailed for 18 months for opposing the imposition of Emergency. In Karnataka’s seventh and eighth Assembly, he served as Minister for Irrigation and Public Works. He resigned from the Cabinet in 1987 in protest against insufficient allocation of funds for irrigation. Thereafter, he became president of the state Janata Party twice and then president of the Karnataka Janata Dal in 1994. On being elected leader of the JD legislature party on December 11, 1994, he became the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Barely 11 months later, on May 30, 1996, he was sworn in as Prime Minister. It was his leadership of the National Front, a group of regional parties which was a non-Congress, non-BJP combine, that led to his installation as PM. He had played an important role in reuniting the Janata Dal after the original outfit splintered in 1980. In 1996, when no party achieved a clear mandate in Parliament, he had led the Janata Dal to a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.
His rise was not only steady but eventful. Regarded as a relatively unsophisticated man unable to speak the national language, he proved a canny political pragmatist. The son of a Kuruba mother and a Vokkaliga father, he attracted divergent castes and religious groups. He became a protege of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, who wanted him to oversee his political affairs in Karnataka – clearly trusting him more than the high-flying Ramakrishna Hegde. Chandra Shekhar also took Deve Gowda under his tutelage when he came to Parliament for the first time as MP from Hasan. He was always a backbencher in the Lok Sabha, keenly observing and imbibing.
He has been backstabbed by any number of people and proved adroit at returning the favour. As a natural corollary, he has inducted family members like sons Revanna and Kumaraswamy, and daughter-in-law Anita Kumaraswamy in politics.
There were allegations of nepotism against his sons. Revanna had served as a Minister in the Deve Gowda-promoted coalition government with the Congress headed by Dharam Singh of the Congress. In 2006, his other son, Kumaraswamy, engineered a split in the JD(S) when he took 40 MLAs and joined hands with the BJP. The coalition government fell and Deve Gowda resigned as JD(S) president, owning moral responsibility for failing to save the Dharam Singh government. However, in February 2006 he withdrew his resignation and suspended the 40 JD(S) MLAs, including Kumaraswamy, then Chief Minister, from primary membership of the party. It was believed that the entire farce was orchestrated by Deve Gowda as he supported Kumaraswamy in aligning with the BJP provided the latter agreed to a common development agenda. He also agreed to coordinate the BJP-led alliance at the national level. This was at variance with his earlier stand that he would not have any truck with the BJP and led to a fight in the JD(S).
Today, Deve Gowda is banking on his immediate family rather than undependable loyalists to keep the flag flying in politics. His second daughter-in-law, Bhawani Revanna, is poised to enter politics. Deve Gowa is waiting for an opportune moment for her debut and is believed to be looking for a safe Assembly seat for her.
Spartan in his ways, Deve Gowda’s staple diet of millet balls became known to the nation during his days as PM. He gave up non-vegetarian food long ago. Meticulous by nature, he would stay up late at night preparing notes for debates in the Lok Sabha. His penchant for falling sleep at public meetings and even during interviews is well known but is forgiven due to his amiability.
Predilection for prediction
Years ago, a Delhi University Sanskrit lecturer by the name of Devendra Mishra, who was also a well known astrologer, told Deve Gowda that he would become Prime Minister. The humble farmer laughed and told Mishra he could charge any fee he liked, but that he should not lie to him.
When he did become PM, Deve Gowda went to thank Mishra and asked what he could do for him. Mishra’s wish was modest: promotion to professorship and a house on the DU campus. But Deve Gowda said he would make him Vice-Chancellor. Mishra explained that he was not VC material and would be content being a professor.
Earlier, when Mishra had met Deve Gowda after he became Chief Minister of Karnataka, he had said he would continue in that office for 10 years. But Deve Gowda’s Chief Ministership lasted 10 months. So did his Prime Ministership! The preponderance of the figure reaffirmed Deve Gowda’s faith in Mishra.
Deve Gowda is a frequent visitor to the head of the Kodi Mutt in Arsikere of Hasan district. The seer, who has told Deve Gowda that he has a chance of becoming PM again, apparently told Indira Gandhi to contest from Chickmagalur. The rest is history. Will his words be equally prophetic for Deve Gowda?
