Former PM Deve Gowda’s wife Chennamma to be cremated with state honours today

Chennamma, who married the now 93-year-old Deve Gowda in 1954, was not a public personality but was considered a quiet force behind Gowda and their politician sons – former Karnataka CM and current Union minister H D Kumaraswamy, and former minister H D Revanna.

“She was the quiet strength behind our family, the embodiment of unconditional love, sacrifice, and unwavering values. Every lesson she taught us, every blessing she bestowed, and every prayer she offered will remain my guiding light for the rest of my life,” Kumaraswamy said following Chennamma’s death.

A visibly grieving Deve Gowda – who often appeared most amiable in the presence of his wife – has received condolences from top politicians, including PM Narendra Modi, current and former Karnataka CMs D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.

PM Modi’s message

“Deeply pained by the passing of Smt Chennamma Ji, wife of former Prime Minister Shri Deve Gowda Ji. She was admired for her humility and passion towards serving society. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with Shri Deve Gowda Ji and his entire family,” PM Modi said in a message on social media.

Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, who was a close associate of Deve Gowda for nearly four decades before parting ways with the JD(S) to join the Congress in 2006, was among the first to visit Deve Gowda and offer condolences following Chennamma’s death.

“Chennamma was a strong woman who faced everything with courage, undeterred by the hardships and sufferings she faced in her life. She was an ideal homemaker, raising a large family amidst the ups and downs of Deve Gowda’s political career,” Siddaramaiah said in a condolence message on social media.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also condoled the death of Chennamma, “Having shared warm personal relations with Shri Deve Gowda ji, over the years, this loss is one that I feel with profound sorrow. Smt. Chennamma ji was the quiet strength of the Gowda family – a woman of deep faith, grace, and unwavering dedication. Her life was a reminder that many of the greatest contributions are made away from the public gaze, through silent sacrifice and steadfast commitment.”

Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Pralhad Joshi, and Manoharlal Khattar are expected to attend the last rites of Chennamma on Monday afternoon.

Deve Gowda was 21 when he married Chennamma, then 17, in a marriage arranged by their families. She was from a relatively well-to-do family from a neighboring village to that of the Deve Gowda’s family in Haradanahalli in Hassan.

Early in their marriage, Chennamma is reported to have financed Deve Gowda’s civil contractor work with her marriage jewellery in order to help Gowda bid for a contract.

“This understanding and trust between the couple deepened over the years. Right through his career as a contractor, and later as a politician, it appears Gowda never had surplus money. He only rotated it from one project to another and one election to another,” author Sugata Srinivasaraju notes in his biography of Deve Gowda titled Furrows in a Field.

“He (Deve Gowda) was perpetually in debt. Amidst such glorious uncertainties, the role played by Chennamma to offer a reasonably stable family life to Gowda and their six children was stellar. She was always homebound and saw the world through her husband. She gradually developed an independent judgment of people around her. Her social circuit was confined to her extended family, especially in Holenarasipur and Hassan,” the book notes.