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.

[10][11][12] In 1996, Janata Dal reached its pinnacle when H. D. Deve Gowda became Prime Minister of India, heading the United Front (UF) coalition government.

[17] 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.

In September 2023, JD(S) joined the BJP controlled National Democratic Alliance.

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.