Here's everything you need to know about Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda

The ever smiling member of Modi cabinet— Sadananda Gowda began his career as a lawyer before making switch to politics from Karnataka. 

Below is a concise profile of the leader who is presenting the railway budget today: 

Here is the complete coverage: Budget 2014

*He was born in 1953 to Venkappa Gowda and Kamala and hails from the Devaragunda family of Mandekolu village, Sullia taluk in South Kannada.

*He graduated in science from St. Philomina College, Puttur and obtained a law degree from the Udupi Vaikunta Baliga College of Law.

*He started his political career as a member of the Jana Sangha in Karnataka and was elected to the Assembly from Puttur in 1994 and again in 1999. During his second term he became the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

*He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from the Dakshina Kannada constituency including Kodagu, in 2004 and from Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency in 2009. He currently represents the Bangalore North constituency in the Lok Sabha.

*After the split of the Janata Party, he became a member of the BJP. Later on, he served the BJP as Dakshina Kannada BJP Yuva Morcha President, Dakshina Kannada BJP Vice-President, State BJP Yuva Morcha Secretary (1983–88), State BJP Secretary (2003–04) and National Secretary of the party (2004).

*He is a member of the 16th Lok Sabha representing the Bangalore North constituency. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on 4 August 2011 following the resignation of B. S. Yeddyurappa.

*He earned national prominence as the President of the Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party when the BJP won an assembly election for the first time in South India in May 2008. He resigned as Chief Minister on 8 July 2012 to make way for Jagadish Shettar, as per the direction of the BJP's Central Committee.

*He has served in various committees of the Karanataka State legislature including the Cell for preparing Draft Bill on prohibiting Atrocities on Women, Karnataka, the Committee of Energy, Fuel and Power, and the Committee for Public Undertaking. He was nominated as the President of the Public Accounts Committee in 2003.

*He was a member of the Committee on Commerce. Government of India had appointed him as Director of Coffee Board during January 2005.

*In 2006, Sadananda Gowda was appointed as President of Karnataka State BJP. He earned National prominence being the President when BJP won an assembly election for the first time in South India in May 2008.

*He was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Udupi Chikmagalur Constituency before he became the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

*Sadananda Gowda was chosen as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in August 2011 following the resignation of his mentor B.S. Yeddyurappa in an illegal mining case and handpicked by Yeddyurappa, he was the second ethnic Tuluva Chief Minister of Karnataka after Veerappa Moily.

*As Chief minister, he strived hard to improve the image of his party that had been tarnished due to allegations of corruption. He introduced various schemes such as Sakaala, aimed at providing time bound services at government offices. But within a few months of becoming Chief Minister, he fell out with Yeddyurappa and was unable to unite the various factions of the party. In July 2012, he was asked to resign to make way for Jagadish Shettar when dissident activities in the party peaked.

*After suffering big loss in May 2013 elections, BJP elected DV Sadananda Gowda as the opposition leader of legislative council in Karnataka.

*On 26 May 2014, Sadananda Gowda was sworn in as a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's newly elected government. He was put in charge of the Ministry of Railways.

*Railway minister Devaragunda Venkappa Sadananda Gowda, the soft-spoken, ever-smiling lawyer from Coastal Karnataka, is no mass leader.

*Few had heard of him outside Coastal Karnataka when a besieged B S Yeddyurappa appointed DV as his successor in August 2011.

*His victory in the recent elections from Bangalore North, where he is an outsider, was attributed to the Modi wave. His two previous Lok Sabha victories from Udupi and Dakshina Kannada constituencies too were attributed to the party's formidable mass base in Coastal Karnataka.
 
 *An RSS worker for over 40 years, Gowda's career is an example of how far one can go by staying loyal to the party. Never one to make a controversial statement or get involved in factionalism, he is seen as one of the most dependable leaders within the state BJP.

Inputs from Wikipedia