The Karnataka Chief Minister has an important role in the ruling of the state as he stays at the helm of affairs of both the legislative and executive divisions of the government.

Present Chief Minister of Karnataka

At present, the Karnataka Chief Minister is D. V. Sadananda Gowda and he is the 26th Chief Minister of the state. Prior to becoming the Chief Minister of Karnataka, he was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Udupi Chikmagalur constituency. He belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

About D. V. Sadananda Gowda

D. V. Sadananda Gowda took oath as the Chief Minister of the state on August 4, 2011. He was chosen as the leader of the legislative party of BJP in Karnataka. This took place when B. S. Yeddyurappa, the earlier Chief Minister quit office after being formally accused for corruption by Justice Santhosh Hegde, the Karnataka Lok Ayukta.

D. V. Sadananda Gowda emerged into the national scene of politics in June 2007 while he played a significant role to assist Bharatiya Janata Party to make their first government in South India.

Early Life of D.V. Sadananda Gowda

Deveragunda Venkatappa Sadananda Gowda comes from the Mandelok Village in Sulia Taluk, Dakshina Kannada district. He is a descendant of the Devaragunda family. He was born in 1953 and his father was Sri Venkappa Gowda and his mother was Smt. Kamala. The Devaragunda family is a descendant of the Tulu Gowda (Kodagu Gowda) community.

Student life and professional life of Sadananda Gowda

Sadananda Gowda obtained his B.Sc. degree from St. Philomena College in Puttur. Subsequently, he pursued law education from Udupi Vaikunta Baliga College of Law. During this time, he was enthusiastically involved in student politics and was nominated as the General Secretary of the Udupi Vaikunta Baliga Law College Student Union. He also achieved the position of the District General Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is the student's division of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Sadananda Gowda began practicing as a lawyer at both Puttur and Sullia in 1976. Gowda also worked as a public prosecutor for a short term in Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district. However, he quit the position to focus more on his political life.

Throughout these years, Sadananda Gowda took part in different types of community and social welfare activities.

Political Career of Sadananda Gowda

Gowda kickstarted his political career by taking up the membership of the former Jan Sangh. During his extensive political career, he glorified different positions such as President of the BJP Yuva Morcha (Dakshina Kannada), President of the Sullia Assembly constituency of BJP, Vice-President of Dakshina Kannada BJP, Secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha in Karnataka from 1983 to 1988, Secretary of Karnataka BJP from 2003 to 2004 and National Secretary of BJP in 2004.

Sadananda Gowda made his entry to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1994 and 1999. He won the elections on both occasions from the Puttur Assembly Constituency in Dakshina Kannada. Gowda was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition during his 2nd term as legislator.

During his tenure as legislator, Sadananda Gowda has been member of different committees of the Karnataka Assembly such as Karnataka, the Cell for making Draft Bill on forbidding violence on Women, the Committee for Public Undertaking and the Committee of Energy, Fuel and Power. In 2003, Gowda also held the position of the President of the Public Accounts Committee.

In 2004, he became a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from the Mangalore Parliamentary Constituency. He overwhelmed M. Veerappa Moily of the Congress Party by 32,314 votes.

In 2009, Bharatiya Janata Party decided to change his seat and field him as a candidate from the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha seat. He emerged victorious for the second time and served as a member of the Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. Gowda also served as a member of the Committee on Commerce in the 14th Lok Sabha.

Is Sadananda Gowda Married?

Sadananda Gowda is married to Datty Sadananda. They have a son, whose name is Karthik Gowda who has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Nitte Engineering College. They have lost Kaushik Gowda, their elder son, in a motor vehicle mishap near Puttur in 2003. At that time, he was pursuing his MBBS degree.

He is keen in tribal arts of Dakshina Kannada, Yakshagana and loves to play tennis and shuttle badminton.

Positions held by D.V. Sadananda Gowda

Listed below are the different positions held by the present Chief Minister of Karnataka:

Tenure	Positions held
1994-2004	Served as a legislator of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for two terms
1995-1996	He served as a member of the committee for making Draft Bill on Preventing Violence on Women, Government of Karnataka
2001-2002	He served as a member of the Committee for Energy, Fuel & Power, Karnataka Legislative Assembly
2002-2003	He served as a member of the Public Undertaking Committee of Karnataka Legislative Assembly
1999-2004	He served as the Deputy Leader of Opposition, Karnataka Legislative Assembly
2003-2004	He was elected as President of the Public Accounts Committee, Karnataka Legislative Assembly
1983-1988	He served as the state secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha, Karnataka
2004-2006	He became a Member of Parliament in the 14th Lok Sabha and National Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party
2006-Present	He is serving as the state president of Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka
January 18, 2006 onwards	He served as a member of the sub-committee of the Department Related Parliamentary
August 5, 2006 onwards	He served as a Member of the Committee on Commerce in the 14th Lok Sabha He was also a member of the Standing Committee on Commerce for Special Economic Zones
August 5, 2007 onwards	He served as a member of the Committee on Commerce
2009	He became a Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha from Udupi Chikmagalur Constituency
August 2011	He was elected as the 26th Chief Minister of Karnataka

Other positions

Sadananda Gowda has garnered fame in different capacities in the co-operative campaign. He held the following positions in the movement:

Vice President of SCDCC Bank, Mangalore.
Director, SKACM Society, Mangalore
President Sullia PLD Bank, Sullia
From 1991 to 1994, he was Director of CAMPCO, Mangalore.
In the year 1989-90, he became member of the State PLD Bank Staff Selection Committee.
President, Mandekolu S.C. Society, Mandekolu, Sullia

Significant achievements of D.V. Sadananda Gowda

D.V. Sadananda Gowda has strived for the social welfare of the labor class or wage earners by essentially assuming their basic causes. He also served as the General Secretary of Bharathiya Majdur Sangha of Puttur Segment and elected as President of the Auto Rickshaw Drivers and Owners Union in Sullia Taluk. When he was Chairman of Ashraya Samithi, Gowda had allocated over 3,500 Ashraya residences during his term.

Puttur Taluk Panchayat had made significant improvement and works in the state have flourished during the BJP regime under his leadership. One of the most significant feats achieved by Mr. Gowda is that he spearheaded a protest for support price of Areca.

As a Member of Parliament, his dogged determination paid rich dividends. He has always been regarded as a dutiful Member of Parliament and as a result, he was chosen as the National Secretary of BJP. He also oversaw the party issues in Goa and was nominated as the Director of Coffee Board. In 2006, he became the State President of BJP.

Last Updated on 12 September 2011