A trend not much talked about in the State politics is that every non-Congress government in Karnataka has resulted in the formation of a new party.
The Janata Party rule — which began in 1983 in the State with Ramakrishna Hegde (in picture) as the Chief Minister — was marked by several ups and downs, and saw the formation of the Janata Dal in 1988 at the national and State levels by the time the next elections were held in the State in 1989.
The second non-Congress government in Karnataka was in power from 1994 to 1999 led by H.D. Deve Gowda (till May 1996). By the 1999 elections, the Janata Dal, which was governing the State, got divided and two new parties — the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Janata Dal (United), were formed.
The third non-Congress government was the BJP government (2008–13). By the end of the tenure, prominent leaders had quit the party, and the Karnataka Janata Paksha led by B.S. Yeddyurappa and BSR Congress led by B. Sriramulu became forces to reckon with in the 2013 elections.
