When Mallikarjun Kharge, now Congress president, rebelled against Indira Gandhi

The Razakars went on a killing spree in Kharge's home village, killing his mother and sister. This is ironic given that Kharge's opponents frequently accuse him of being too soft on radical Islamists.

Image Credit: ANI; Representational purpose only

New Delhi: Mallikarjun Kharge became the newest president of the Grand Old Party defeating Shashi Tharoor in a contest whose outcome was known the day nominations were announced. Kharge not only enjoyed the blessings of the Gandhi family, but also the rebel G23 group whose support Tharoor was counting on. Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-time MP from Karnataka, is Sonia Gandhi’s blue-eyed boy. For decades, he has remained loyal to the Congress, even as he was repeatedly overlooked for the post of Karnataka chief minister. But he did rebel. And he did that against Indira Gandhi. In the late 1970s, relations strained between then Karnataka CM Devaraj Urs and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Urs, whom Kharge considered his political guru, was against Sanjay Gandhi’s return to politics. He suspected that Congress leaders opposed to him were airing their grievances to Indira through Sanjay. 

One particular grievance was that Urs held both positions of CM and state party chief, and he wasn’t willing to relinquish either. One of the tallest leaders in Karnataka at the time, Urs commanded the loyalty of most Congress MLAs, a fact that discomfited Indira. The PM, on her part, suspected that Urs was getting closer to the Janata Party. Indira finally removed Urs as state unit president, and the latter responded by floating his splinter group – Congress (U) – in 1979. 

Kharge stood by his mentor and followed him to the new outfit. But he soon returned to the Congress fold after the 1980 Lok Sabha election, as Urs failed to win a single seat in Karnataka. Kharge has since remained loyal to the Congress, so much so that he named his sons Rahul and Priyank after the Gandhi siblings, and his daughter Priyadarshini after Indira herself. Various reports say Kharge and his father escaped to Gulbarga from Bidar when he was only five years old. The Razakars were on a rampage in their native village, even killing Kharge’s mother and sister. This is ironic in the sense that Kharge’s opponents often accuse him of being soft on radical Islamists. 

But the octogenarian worked hard to rise through the ranks – first as a student leader, then as a labour union leader, practising law, and finally entering the Congress. Appointed as president of the Gulbarga city unit in 1969, Kharge contested the assembly elections for the first time three years later. He won and repeated the feat eight times. In 1976, he became a minister for the first time in the Urs government. 

He was considered, and subsequently overlooked, for the post of Karnataka CM thrice – in 1999, 2004 and 2013 – in favour of SM Krishna, Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah. In 2004, as the ‘Number 2’ in SM Krishna’s outgoing government, he was expected to take the CM’s chair after the party returned to power. However, he had to make way for Dharam Singh, and his supporters urged an upset Kharge to take up the matter with Sonia Gandhi. He refused. 

The Congress rewarded his loyalty by first appointing him a leader in Lok Sabha, and then Rajya Sabha after he lost in the 2019 general elections – a first. Now as Congress chief, he becomes the first non-Gandhi to hold the post in almost 25 years. Kharge is also the second Dalit to lead the Congress after Jagjivan Ram (1969) and the second from Karnataka as well after S Nijalingappa (1968). The Congress believes that having one of its most prominent Dalit faces at the helm would serve rich dividends in Karnataka which goes to polls next year.