Close proximity to BSY makes luck smile on DVS Gowda

BANGALORE: His efforts to save B S Yeddyurappa from being toppled during two rebellions within the party fold in Karnataka paid rich dividends for D V Sadananda Gowda, who is all set to become BJP's second Chief Minister in the southern state.
The close proximity and confidence he enjoyed with Yeddyurappa turned out to be a windfall for 58-year-old Deveragunda Venkatappa Sadananda Gowda, affectionately called 'DVS' in BJP circles, who was elected leader of the legislature party through a secret ballot.

A law graduate, the former public prosecutor-turned politician who is now the Udupi-Chikmagalur MP in Lok Sabha, is a seasoned politician and a deft handler of crisis.

A beleaguered Yeddyurappa, who had to face the axe and quit Chief Ministership following a Lokayukta report which indicted him in the illegal mining probe, made a hard bargain to install Gowda as his successor, frustrating other strong contenders like Yeddyurappa's bitter rival H N Ananth Kumar, Jagadish Shettar and state unit president K S Eswarappa.

A science graduate, Gowda had a brief stint as an advocate before taking the plunge into politics through Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Jana Sangh.

Gowda, who headed the Karnataka unit BJP in 2006 and was re-elected in 2007, had played a key role in helping the party to power in the 2008 Assembly elections.