Devaragunda Venkappa Sadananda Gowda (born 18 March 1953), is an Indian politician who served as the union
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments namely:
*Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
*Department of Fertilizers.
*Department of Pharmaceuticals.
T ...
of India in the
Second Modi ministry
The Second Ministry of Narendra Modi is the Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi that was formed after the 2019 general election which was held in seven phases in 2019. The results of the election were announce ...
from 14 November 2018 to 7 July 2021. He also served as the
Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation of India from 5 July 2016 to 24 May 2019 in the First Modi ministry. He is representing the
Bangalore North constituency. He also held
Ministry of Railways
A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...
and other cabinet positions in the
First Modi ministry
The First Ministry of Narendra Modi is the Council of Ministers headed by Narendra Modi that was formed after the 2014 general election which was held in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May in 2014. The results of the election were announced o ...
. He also served as the 20th
Chief Minister of Karnataka
The chief minister of Karnataka, formerly known as the chief minister of Mysore, is the chief executive officer of the government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnataka is the state's ''de j ...
.
He previously served as the
Minister of Law and Justice
The Minister of Law and Justice is the head of the Ministry of Law and Justice and one of the cabinet ministers of the Government of India. The first Law and Justice Minister of independent India was B. R. Ambedkar, who served in first Nehru min ...
, having been shifted from the
Ministry of Railways
A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...
in the cabinet reshuffle of 5 July 2016.
At the end of the previous Lok Sabha, he was the
Minister of Statistics and Program Implementation. He then stepped down from his post of
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments namely:
*Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
*Department of Fertilizers.
*Department of Pharmaceuticals.
T ...
ahead of the cabinet reshuffle in July 2021.
Early life
Sadananda Gowda was born in a
Tulu Gowda
Tulu may refer to:
People
*Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner
*Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu"
India
*Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...
family of Venkappa Gowda and Kamala in
Mandekolu
Mandekolu is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India. The nearest cities are Sullia, Adoor and Kasaragod. It is located near the Karnataka-Kerala border on the banks of River Payaswini(Chandragiri), at a distance of 86 km from Mang ...
village of
Sulya taluk in Karnataka.
Gowda graduated in Science from
Saint Philomena College, Puttur
St Philomena College, Puttur is an educational institution for undergraduate and postgraduate studies situated in Puttur town in Karnataka state, India. The college is managed by the Catholic Board of Education (CBE) of the Diocese of Mangalor ...
and went on to obtain his degree in law at Udupi's
Vaikunta Baliga College of Law
Vaikunta Baliga College of Law (Formerly called as the Udupi Law College) was established in the year 1957 by late Dr.T.M.A.Pai. The college was named after Late Sri B.Vaikunta Baliga, a legal luminary and then minister of Law, Government of Myso ...
. He became active in student politics during this period and was elected General Secretary of the Students Union of the Law College. Subsequently, he became the District General Secretary of the
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) () is a right-wing all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
History
The ABVP, founded in 1948 with the initiative of the RSS ...
.
In 1976, he started practising law at both
Sulya
Sullia (also known as Sulya) is a town in the Dakshina Kannada district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Sullia taluk. Sullia taluk is one of the seven talukas of Dakshina Kannada district. Its administrative h ...
and
Puttur. He was a public prosecutor for a brief period at Sirsi in the District of Uttara Kannada but resigned from his position to concentrate on his political career.
Sadananda Gowda has served in the Co-operative Movement in Karnataka in various capacities:
* Vice-president of SCDCC Bank,
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
* Director, SKACM Society, Mangalore
* Director,
CAMPCO, Mangalore (1991–94)
* President, Mandekolu S.C.Society,
Mandekolu
Mandekolu is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India. The nearest cities are Sullia, Adoor and Kasaragod. It is located near the Karnataka-Kerala border on the banks of River Payaswini(Chandragiri), at a distance of 86 km from Mang ...
, Sullia
* Member, State PLD Bank staff Selection Committee (1989–90)
Sadananda Gowda has worked for the labour movement being the General Secretary of
Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (translation: ''Indian Workers' Union'') is a trade union in India. It was founded by Dattopant Thengadi on 23 July 1955.
The BMS itself claims to have more than 10 million members. According to provisional statisti ...
, Puttur Division and President of Sullia Taluk Auto Rickshaw Drivers and Owners Union.
Political career
He began his political career as a member of the
Jan Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) (ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the pol ...
. He was President of the party's Sulya Assembly segment. After the split of the
Janata Party
The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...
, he became a member of the BJP. Later on, he served the BJP as Dakshina Kannada BJP Yuva Morcha President, Dakshina Kannada BJP Vice-president, State BJP Yuva Morcha Secretary (1983–88), State BJP Secretary (2003–04) and National Secretary of the party (2004).
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
Sadananda Gowda was elected to the
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
in 1994 and 1999 from the Puttur Assembly seat in Dakshina Kannada. He became Deputy Leader of the Opposition in his second term as MLA. He has served in various committees of the Karnataka State legislature including the Cell for preparing Draft Bill on prohibiting Atrocities on Women, Karnataka, the Committee of Energy, Fuel, and Power, and the Committee for Public Undertaking. He was nominated as the President of the Public Accounts Committee in 2003.
Lok Sabha
He was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004 from the
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
Lok Sabha seat, defeating
Veerappa Moily
Marpadi Veerappa Moily (born 12 January 1940) is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress from the state of Karnataka.
Moily was the former Chief Minister (and the first ethnic Tuluva CM) of the Indian state of Karnataka ...
of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
by a margin of 32,314 votes. In 2009, the party shifted him to the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency. In parliament, he was on the Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests. In the 14th Lok Sabha, he was a member of the Committee on Commerce. The Government of India had appointed him as Director of Coffee Board during January 2005.
In 2006, Sadananda Gowda was appointed President of Karnataka State BJP. He earned national prominence being the President when BJP won an assembly election for the first time in South India in May 2008.
He was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from
Udupi Chikmagalur Constituency before he became the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Chief Minister of Karnataka
Sadananda Gowda was chosen as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in August 2011 following the resignation of his mentor
B.S. Yeddyurappa in an illegal mining case. Handpicked by Yeddyurappa, he was the second ethnic
Tuluva
The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada ...
Chief Minister of Karnataka after
Veerappa Moily
Marpadi Veerappa Moily (born 12 January 1940) is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress from the state of Karnataka.
Moily was the former Chief Minister (and the first ethnic Tuluva CM) of the Indian state of Karnataka ...
. As Chief Minister, he strived hard to improve the image of his party that had been tarnished due to allegations of corruption. He introduced various schemes such as Sakaala, aimed at providing time-bound services at government offices. But within a few months of becoming Chief Minister, he fell out with Yeddyurappa and was unable to unite the various factions of the party. In July 2012, he was asked to resign to make way for
Jagadish Shettar
Jagadish Shivappa Shettar (born 17 December 1955) is an Indian politician belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who served as the 21st Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2012 to 2013. He has subsequently served as Leader of the Opposition in ...
when dissident activities in the party peaked.
After suffering a big loss in the May 2013 elections, BJP elected DV Sadananda Gowda as the opposition leader of legislative council in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
.
On 26 May 2014, Sadananda Gowda was sworn in as a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's newly elected government. He was put in charge of the Ministry of Railways. He presented his maiden budget on 8 July 2014.
Cabinet minister in Modi's second term government
On 30 May 2019, Sadananda Gowda was sworn in as a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term government. He was put in charge of the
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments namely:
*Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
*Department of Fertilizers.
*Department of Pharmaceuticals.
T ...
. He then stepped down from his post of
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments namely:
*Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
*Department of Fertilizers.
*Department of Pharmaceuticals.
T ...
as directed by the prime minister ahead of the cabinet reshuffle in July 2021.
Accusations
As part of the
#Metoo movement, a former
BJP Mahila Morcha
BJP Mahila Morcha, or simply Mahila Morcha (IPA: Mahilā Mōrcā, ), is the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India. Vanathi Srinivasan, former Tamil Nadu BJP Unit Vice president and current Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislat ...
member accused Gowda in 2018 of inappropriately behaving with her when Gowda was Karnataka's chief minister. She claimed that Gowda would constantly call her and invite her to meet him at his office and have lunch with him. She also claimed that Gowda touched her body parts and attempted to make physical contact with her in a variety of ways. Gowda said that he was not the CM during that period and said "Everyone knows how I am and what I am. I do not want to say anything about this to anyone right now."
Cybersex
A video clip purportedly showing Gowda in a
sexually compromising position with an unidentified woman over a video call went viral on social media in September 2021. Gowda said that he has lodged a police complaint and alleged that the “fake, fabricated, concocted” video was “politically motivated” and said that it was created to tarnish his image.
Positions held
* 1983–1988 State Secretary, BJP Yuva Morcha Karnataka
* 1994–2004 Member,
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
(two terms)
* 1995–1996 Member, Cell for preparing Draft Bill on Prohibiting atrocities on Women,
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...
* 1999–2004 Deputy Leader of Opposition,
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
* 1999–2001 Member, Committee on Commerce
* 2001–2002 Member, Committee for Energy, Fuel & Power,
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
* 2002–2003 Member, Public Undertaking Committee,
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
* 2003–2004 President, Public Accounts Committee,
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
* 2004 Elected to
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nationa ...
* 2006–2010 State President,
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
, Karnataka
* 2006–2009 Member, Committee on Commerce
* 2006–onwards Member, Sub-committee of the Department Related Parliamentary standing Committee on Commerce for Special Economic Zones
* 2009 Elected to
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...
* 2011–2012 Elected as 20th
Chief Minister of Karnataka
The chief minister of Karnataka, formerly known as the chief minister of Mysore, is the chief executive officer of the government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnataka is the state's ''de j ...
* 2013 Elected as the leader of opposition of
Karnataka Legislative Council
The Karnataka Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Karnataka state in South Western India. Karnataka is one of the six states in India, where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses: the Leg ...
* 2014 Elected to
16th Lok Sabha
Members of the 16th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2014 Indian general election. The elections were conducted in 9 phases from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 by the Election Commission of India. The results of the election were declared on 16 M ...
from
Bangalore North and took oath as
Central Railway Minister
* 2015–2016
Cabinet Minister-Law & justice
* 2016–
Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation
* 2019–2021 Elected to
17th Lok Sabha
The 17th Lok Sabha was formed by the members elected in the 2019 Indian general election. Elections, all across India, were conducted in seven phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 by the Election Commission of India. Counting started offi ...
from
Bangalore North and took oath as
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments namely:
*Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
*Department of Fertilizers.
*Department of Pharmaceuticals.
T ...
Family
Sadananda Gowda married Datty Sadananda in 1981, with whom he had two sons.
In 2003, their elder son Kaushik, a medical student, died in a road accident near
Puttur.
Their younger son, Karthik Gowda, is a businessman.
References
External links
Members of Fourteenth Lok Sabha – Parliament of India website*
DV Sadananda Gowda*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowda, D. V. Sadananda
1953 births
India MPs 2004–2009
India MPs 2009–2014
India MPs 2014–2019
Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party
Chief Ministers of Karnataka
Leaders of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council
Living people
Lok Sabha members from Karnataka
People from Dakshina Kannada district
Railway Ministers of India
Law Ministers of India
Members of the Cabinet of India
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Karnataka
Narendra Modi ministry
India MPs 2019–present