Hegde completed a part of his studies at the Kashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi and later obtained a degree in law from Allahabad university.

He was later promoted to cabinet-minister rank, holding diverse portfolios such as Youth Welfare and Sports, Cooperation, Industries, Planning, Panchayat Raj, Development, Information and Publicity, Excise and Finance between 1962 and 1971.

As Chief Minister between 1983 and 1985 and again between 1985 and 1988, he became an active votary of State rights within a federal set-up, but one who made no concession to regional or linguistic chauvinism.

Secondly, he took innovative initiatives in expanding the federal principle within the State, primarily in the area of devolving power to local bodies and in trying to enforce accountability.

During his Chief Minister-ship, Karnataka pioneered legislation on Panchayat Raj that devolved a substantial degree of financial and administrative powers to a three-tiered structure of local government.

He was expelled from Janata Dal by its president Lalu Prasad Yadav, as per the instructions of Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda in 1996.

[19] Following his expulsion, Hegde formed the Rashtreeya Nava nirmana vedike a social organization and then his political party Lok Shakti.

[20] He allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the alliance won a majority of the Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka in the 1998 General Elections.

However, the alliance suffered a setback in the 1999 General Elections owing to the anti-incumbency against the Patel Government and the Congress party emerged victorious in Karnataka.

Hegde was also the romantic partner of a renowned Indian classical dancer Pratibha Prahlad who was junior to him by 36 years, from the 1980s until his death in 2004.

[23] Despite the weakening of his political stock, Hegde continued to play the role of elder statesman in the fractious Janata Parivar.

In the latter part of his life he became depressed and trusted only few friends like Alva, Siddiqui and advocate Manas Ranjan, along with his partner, Prathibha Prahlad, who he confided in and spent his free time with.