D. Devaraj Urs: Difference between revisions

| name           = D. Devaraj Arasu

| image         = File:Devarajaurs 1 small.PNG

| caption       =  

| order         = [[List of Chief Ministers of Karnataka|8th]]

| office         = Chief Minister of Karnataka

| governor       = [[Govind Narain]]

| term_start     = 28 February 1978

| term_end       = 7 January 1980

| predecessor   = [[President's rule]]

| successor     = [[R. Gundu Rao]]

| governor1     = [[Mohan Lal Sukhadia]] <br /> [[Uma Shankar Dikshit]] <br /> Govind Narain

| term_start1   = 20 March 1972

| term_end1     = 31 December 1977

| predecessor1   = [[President's rule]]

| successor1     = [[President's rule]]

| office2       = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of the Legislative Assembly]] for Hunsur

| term_start2   = 1952

| term_end2     = 1957

| predecessor2   = ''Constituency established''

| successor2     = N. Rachaiah

| term_start3   = 1962

| term_end3     = 1967

| predecessor3   = N. Rachaiah

| successor3     = D. V. Devaraj

| term_start4   = 1978

| term_end4     = 6 June 1982

| predecessor4   = U. Kariyappa Gowda

| successor4     = [[Chandraprabha Urs]]

| party         = [[Indian National Congress]]

| otherparty     = {{plainlist|[[Karnataka Kranti Ranga]] {{small|(1982)}}

| birth_date     = {{birth date|df=yes|1915|8|20}}

| birth_place   = [[Mysore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]]<br /> (now in [[Karnataka]], India)

| death_date     = {{death date and age|1982|6|6|1915|8|20|df=yes}}

| death_place   = [[Bangalore]], [[Karnataka]], India

| relatives     = [[Kemparaj Urs]] (brother)

| spouse         = Chikkammanni

| children       = 3

'''D. Devaraj Urs''' (20 August 1915 – 6 June 1982)<ref name="SIP"/> was an Indian politician who served two terms as the eighth [[Chief Minister of Karnataka]] (1972–77, 1978–80), a state in [[southern India]]. He entered politics in 1952 and was an MLA for 10 years. When the [[Indian National Congress]] split in 1969 as Samstha ([[Congress(O)]]) and Indira Congress ([[Congress (R)]]), he stood with Indira Gandhi. He became the [[Chief Minister]] of [[Karnataka]] (fifth Assembly) for the first time from 20 March 1972 to 31 December 1977 and later for the second time from 17 March 1978 to 8 June 1980 (sixth Assembly).

==Early life==

D. Devaraj Urs was born at   Kallahalli [[Hunsur]] Taluk, [[Mysore district]], the then [[Kingdom of Mysore]]. His father, also named Devaraj Urs, was a land-owner and his mother, Devira Ammanni, was a pious and traditional lady. His younger brother, [[Kemparaj Urs]] was an actor. The family belonged to the [[Arasu (caste)|Arasu]] community and were very distant relatives to the [[Wodeyar]] royal family.

Urs had practically retired from politics when the first Congress split took place in 1969, and the Syndicate formed the [[Congress (O)]] ('O'for "Organization") while Indira Gandhi formed the [[Congress (R)]]. The [[Congress (O)]], under [[S. Nijalingappa]], [[Veerendra Patil]], [[Ramakrishna Hegde]] and [[Deve Gowda]] dominated Karnataka electorally and had a majority in the state assembly, but Urs declined an invitation to join it. Instead, he agreed to lead the [[Congress (R)]] in the state and helped win all the 27 seats at the [[1971 Indian general election|1971 Lok Sabha elections]] and majority in the [[1972 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election|1972 legislative assembly elections]].<ref name="SIP">{{cite book|last1=Mathew|first1=George|title=Shift in Indian Politics: 1983 Elections in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka|date=1984|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|pages=8|isbn=9788170221302|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GM6OAAAAMAAJ|access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref> Under his leadership Congress(R) won 165/216 seats, thus garnering more than 75% of the seats. Congress(O) came a distant second with 24 seats. Independents won 20 seats. [[Communist Party of India|CPI]] won 3 while [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|BJS]], the earlier avatar of [[BJP]] stood second in 16 seats, winning none.<ref>{{cite news |title=Karnataka Assembly Election Results in 1972 |url=https://www.elections.in/karnataka/assembly-constituencies/1972-election-results.html |access-date=19 May 2020 |publisher=elections.in |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116103606/https://www.elections.in/karnataka/assembly-constituencies/1972-election-results.html |archive-date=16 November 2019}}</ref> He was chief minister of Karnataka for the full term of the assembly from 1972 to December 1977. In January 1978, he joined [[Congress (I)]] as Mrs Gandhi split the party yet again. The new party won the assembly elections in February 1978 and Urs was appointed Chief Minister. But in 1979, he left Congress(I) following differences with Indira Gandhi, and joined the other Congress faction, [[Congress (S)]]. He continued to be CM as many MLAs joined him.<ref name="thehindu.com">https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/of-a-political-landmark-in-bengaluru/article6625410.ece {{Bare URL inline|date=June 2021}}</ref> The other Congress faction was even known as [[Congress (Urs)]] briefly when he became its president. But in the [[1980 Indian general election|1980 Lok Sabha elections]], his party won just one seat in Karnataka. Most MLAs in his camp deserted him to re-join Congress(I) and [[R. Gundu Rao|Gundu Rao]] became Chief Minister in January 1980. Urs then formed the [[Karnataka Kranti Ranga]] in 1982, a few months before his death.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chengappa|first1=Raj|title=Karnataka: Desperate moves|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/former-karnataka-cm-devraj-urs-quits-congresss-forms-karnataka-kranti-ranga-party/1/391719.html|work=India Today|access-date=13 March 2017|date=May 1982}}</ref>

During the Fifth Assembly of Karnataka State, D. Devaraj Urs was the [[Chief Minister]] from 20-03-1972 to 31-12-1977. President's Rule was imposed from 31-12-1977 to 28-02-1978 in the run-up to 1978 election. The Sixth Assembly lasted its five-year term, from 17 March 1978 to 8 June 1983. Devraj Urs was Chief Minister from 28-02-1978 to 07-01-1980, first with [[Congress(I)]] up to 24-June-1979, and then [[Congress (S)]] when he was expelled from Congress(I) following differences with Indira Gandhi.<ref>https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/forty-years-ago-june-25-1979-congress-expels-urs-5797855/ {{Bare URL inline|date=June 2021}}</ref> When Mrs Gandhi swept to power in Delhi in January 1980, most of the MLAs backing him re-joined Congress(I). Devaraj Urs was ousted and succeeded by [[R. Gundu Rao]] as CM in January 1980.<ref name="thehindu.com"/>