Mallikarjun Kharge

Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge (born 21 July 1942) is an Indian lawyer and politician serving as the President of the Indian National Congress since 2022, and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 2020.

He was the chairperson of Public Accounts Committee in 16th Lok Sabha from 2016 to 2019. During the UPA 2 government, he served as the Minister of Railways from 2013 to 2014 and Minister of Labour and Employment from 2009 to 2013 in the Union Cabinet. Kharge was a Member of Parliament for Gulbarga, Karnataka from 2009 to 2019. He was also general secretary of All India Congress Committee and incharge for Maharashtra from 2018 to 2020.

Kharge served as the Leader of opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 1999. He was the President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee from 2005 to 2008. He was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Gurmitkal Assembly constituency from 1972 to 2008 and from Chittapur Assembly constituency from 2008 to 2009 and Ministry of home affairs, Government of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and Rural development from 1978 to 1980. He defeated Shashi Tharoor in the 2022 Indian National Congress presidential election. Under his presidency, the Congress gained 47 seats in the 2024 Indian general election, forming the official opposition for the first time since 2014.

He is known for his record of defeating all his opposition candidates in his lifetime career except one.

Early life and background
Mallikarjun Kharge was born in the Varawatti, Bhalki Taluk, Bidar district, Karnataka in a Dalit family to Saibavva and Mapanna Kharge.

In 1948, Kharge lost his mother and sister in a fire set off by the Razakars of the Nizam of Hyderabad, while he himself had a narrow escape at the age of 7. He finished his schooling from Nutan Vidyalaya in Gulbarga and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Government College, Gulbarga and his law degree from the Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College in Gulbarga. He started his legal practice as a junior in Justice Shivaraj Patil's office and fought cases for labour unions early in his legal career.

Role in national politics
In 2009, Kharge was elected in the general elections from Gulbarga. This was his tenth consecutive election victory.

In the 2014 general elections, Kharge was elected from Gulbarga, beating Revunaik Belamagih from the BJP with a margin of 13,404 votes. In June, he was appointed the Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.

In the 2019 general elections, Kharge contested from the same parliamentary seat, however this time he lost to Umesh G. Jadhav from the BJP with a margin of 95,452 votes.

On 12 June 2020 Kharge was elected (unopposed) to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, at the age of 78 years. On 12 February 2021, Kharge was appointed Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha.

Kharge notably has been appointed as an observer by the INC for multiple states in the past, including Assam in 2014, Punjab in 2021, and Rajasthan in 2022. He has been criticized for his alleged inability to resolve internal party issues in these three states and therefore causing the loss in Assam and Punjab, and public embarrassment in Rajasthan.

Election for president
On 1 October 2022, he filed nominations to contest the INC party presidential polls and won with 7897 votes. He was the first INC President not from the Gandhi family in 24 years.

2024 Indian general elections
Kharge's name was proposed as the prime ministerial candidate of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance for the 2024 general election. The proposal was made by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and was supported by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, other senior leaders of the alliance such a Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Yadav disapproved the proposal.

Personal life
Kharge married Radhabai on 13 May 1968; they have 2 daughters and 3 sons. Kharge is a polyglot and can speak English, Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Telugu and Marathi. His son Priyank Kharge is an MLA from the Chittapur assembly constituency, and his son-in-law Radhakrishna is an MP from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency, Kharge's former seat in the Lok Sabha.

Kharge is a practicing Buddhist. He is the Founder-Chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust that has built the Buddha Vihar in Gulbarga, India. He is also a patron of the Chowdiah Memorial Hall, a concert and theater venue in Bangalore. He helped the centre get over its debts and aided the centre's plans for renovation.