Mallikarjun Kharge Tunrs 81: The Rise Of Congress Stalwart From Grassroot In Pics

He joined the Indian National Congress in 1969 and became the president of the Gulbarga City Congress Committee. Kharge was unbeatable at the polls until 2014, when he resisted the Narendra Modi wave that swept Karnataka, especially the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, and won from Gulbarga with a margin of over 74,000 votes.

He won from the Gurmitkal Assembly constituency nine times in a row before he entered the Lok Sabha poll arena in 2009 and became a two-time MP from Gulbarga parliamentary segment. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls the veteran leader lost to BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes. That was the first electoral defeat in Kharge’s political life spanning several decades.

A staunch Congressman faithful to the Gandhi family, Kharge has held multiple roles in different ministries that have enhanced his experience as an administrator. He has also been the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Assembly and at the central level as well as in the party where he was KPCC chief during the 2008 Assembly polls

In June 2020, he was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and is currently the 17th Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House of Parliament succeeding Ghulam Nabi Azad in February last year. He was often seen as a top contender for the Chief Minister post in Karnataka, but could never occupy the post.

He was Union Cabinet Minister- Labour and Employment, Railways and Social Justice and Empowerment in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He also held various portfolios in successive Congress governments that ruled the State and was president of Karnataka Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly.

Born in a poor family at Varavatti in Bidar district, he did his schooling and BA as well as Law in Gulbarga. He practised law for some time before plunging into politics. He is a follower of Buddhism and is the founder-chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust which has built the Buddha Vihar complex in Gulbarga. Married Radhabai on 13 May 1968 and they have two daughters and three sons. One son Priyank Kharge is an MLA and a former Minister.