The Janata Dal (Secular) (abbr. JD(S)) is an Indian 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

Electoral performance

Assembly election history in Karnataka

Assembly election history in Kerala

Lok Sabha election history

Legislative leaders

List of union cabinet ministers

List of chief ministers

Chief Ministers of Karnataka

List of deputy chief ministers

Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka