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Janata Dal (Secular)

The Janata Dal (Secular) (transl. People Party (Secular); abbr. JD(S)) is an Indian regional political party recognised as a state party in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh. It was founded by the former prime minister of India H. D. Deve Gowda in July 1999 as a breakaway faction from the Janata Dal.

History

The Janata Dal (Secular), formed in 1999, had its origins in the Janata Party, founded in 1977 as a coalition of several smaller parties that combined forces to oppose the Indian National Congress. In 1988 the Janata Party and other smaller parties merged to form the Janata Dal. In 1996, Janata Dal reached its pinnacle when H. D. Deve Gowda became Prime Minister of India, heading the United Front (UF) coalition government.

The Janata Dal split in 1999, when a faction led by Chief Minister J. H. Patel lent support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance leading to the formation of Janata Dal (Secular) under H. D. Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah. The Sharad Yadav faction of the Janata Dal, the Lok Shakti and the Samata Party merged as the Janata Dal (United). Even though the premise for the split was its opposition to allying with the National Democratic Alliance, H. D. Deve Gowda stayed equally away from the Indian National Congress from the outset.

The 2004 Karnataka Assembly election witnessed the revival of the party's fortunes with JD(S) becoming part of the ruling coalition in the state.

On 14 April 2015, the JD(S), Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Indian National Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, and Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) announced that they would merge into a new national Janata Parivar alliance in order to oppose the BJP, thus leaving the UPA. It has a political presence mainly in Karnataka and is in decline. In September 2023, JD(S) joined the BJP controlled National Democratic Alliance. In Kerala, the party had a small state unit which is part of the state government coalition, the Left Democratic Front. The state unit has refused to be part of the right wing NDA and are in rebellion against their national leadership for having joined hands with the BJP.

Prominent members

H. D. Deve Gowda, president of Janata Dal (Secular), former prime minister of India and former chief minister of Karnataka
H. D. Kumaraswamy, former chief minister of Karnataka, son of former prime minister of India H. D. Deve Gowda, and Karnataka State president of Janata Dal (Secular)
H. D. Revanna, former cabinet minister, present MLA, Karnataka (son of H. D. Deve Gowda).
Nikhil Gowda, state president, Yuva Janata Dal (Secular)
Prajwal Revanna, MP of Hassan; Lok Sabha leader of Janata Dal (Secular).
B. M. Farooq, current MLC of Karnataka Legislative Council, current national general secretary of Janata Dal (Secular)
C. S. Puttaraju, former minister for small irrigation resources, and former member of parliament, Lok Sabha from Mandya
GT Devegowda, former minister for higher education, and member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Chamundeshwari (Vidhana Sabha constituency
Oommen Thalavady, former MLA Kuttanad, Kerala Legislative Assembly
Sarekoppa Bangarappa, former chief minister of Karnataka
N. M. Joseph, vice president of Janata Dal (Secular)
D. Kupendra Reddy, Former MP of Rajya Sabha
Mathew T. Thomas,Kerala State president of Janata Dal (Secular) and former Kerala State minister
Jose Thettayil, vice president of Janata Dal (Secular), former minister Govt. of Kerala.
Neelalohithadasan Nadar, former Kerala State president of Janata Dal (Secular) (former minister Govt. of Kerala; former member of Parliament, Govt. of India)
K. Krishnankutty, current Kerala State minister for electricity department