The former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda is set to end his more-than-six-decade-long political career in public office when his tenure as Rajya Sabha member comes to an end on June 25. While all eyes were on the BJP’s move, the saffron party late on June 7 night decided to nominate M. Nagaraja, an OBC leader, from its ranks instead of the nonagenarian leader. June 8 is the last date for filing nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections.
The JD(S) is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
With the retirement of the 93-year-old leader known for his knowledge of agriculture and irrigation, especially the Cauvery river dispute, Parliament will not have any former prime minister as a member.
The JD(S) was hoping that Mr. Gowda, who is respected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be nominated to the Rajya Sabha. Besides, with another Vokkaliga leader D.K. Shivakumar becoming the Chief Minister of Karnataka, there was speculation that the BJP could offer its seat to Mr. Gowda as a counter-weight in the optics of Vokkaliga politics that dominates the Old Mysuru region. However, the BJP State unit had insisted on nominating one of its own.
“This was not our elections because we did not have the numbers. We had not asked for it either. There is no question of disappointment. This was not our seat,” sources in JD(S) said. “We are not attaching too much of importance to this election. This was media speculation.”
In the election to four Rajya Sabha seats set to be held on June 18, Congress has the numbers to win three seats, and the BJP one seat. The JD(S), with 18 legislators, does not have the numbers, and was dependent on the BJP’s decision.
On multiple occasions in the past, Mr. Gowda, whose understanding of the regional caste equations is well known, has said that he would remain in active politics till his end.
The current stint had been made possible by the Congress’s decision to support him in the 2020 Rajya Sabha elections following his defeat in Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency during the 2019 general elections when JD(S) had participated in the elections in alliance with the Congress. Soon after the party’s debacle in the 2023 Assembly elections, the JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA.
During an illustrious political career that started with being elected to the Taluk Development Board in 1960, and later to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1962, he served as the 14th chief minister of Karnataka in 1994 after leading the Janata Dal to victory in the Assembly elections. Two years later, in 1996, he became the 11th prime minister of India, heading the United Front government. He is a six-term member of the Lok Sabha and a two-term member of the Rajya Sabha. He has been elected to the Legislative Assembly seven times.
Congress terms it humiliation
Following the announcement of the name of the BJP candidate, the Congress termed it as ‘humiliation heaped upon the JD(S) by the BJP’.
“The constant humiliation heaped upon the JD(S) by the BJP and its leadership, and its repeated acceptance by H.D. Kumaraswamy merely sticking to his ministerial chair at any cost is highly astonishing and eye-opening,” said Congress General Secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala in a post on social media platform X. He highlighted that the Congress and its leader Sonia Gandhi extended support to Mr. Deve Gowda in his bid for a seat in the Rajya Sabha in 2020, despite political differences, out of respect for his status as a former prime minister.
KPCC President B.K. Hariprasad termed it an insult, and accused the BJP of using and misusing the former PM for its benefits.
However, JD(S) sources accused the Congress of trying to drive a wedge between the NDA partners, and also that both parties are fully aware of this effort. “We will not be affected by such attacks. The Congress has been showing concern unnecessarily. Mr. Deve Gowda is above all, and our alliance is intact.”
When asked his reaction to the Congress’s attack, the BJP State unit President B.Y. Vijayendra said that there has been no discussion in the State unit on sending Mr. Deve Gowda to the Rajya Sabha. “We have all respect for Mr. Deve Gowda. The party’s central leadership will hold discussions, and provide an appropriate position for him in the coming days.”
Published – June 08, 2026 02:59 pm IST
