Mallikarjun Mapanna Kharge[1] (Kannada:[malːikaːrd͡ʒunkʰɐrɡe]; born 21 July 1942) is an Indian lawyer and statesman serving as thePresident of the Indian National Congress since 2022 andLeader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been aMember of Parliament, Rajya Sabha fromKarnataka since2020.
He began his career in state politics, serving as a member of theKarnataka Legislative Assembly fromGurmitkal Assembly constituency from 1972 to 2008 and fromChittapur Assembly constituency from 2008 to 2009. Kharge served as the leader of the opposition in theKarnataka Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 1999, president ofKarnataka Pradesh Congress Committee from 2005 to 2008, and as a minister in many portfolios under various chief ministers.
Kharge joined national politics when he was elected as theMember of Parliament forGulbarga,Karnataka, serving from 2009 to 2019. During theUPA 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. He was also a general secretary of theAll India Congress Committee, incharge forMaharashtra, from 2018 to 2020. He was also the chairperson ofPublic Accounts Committee in the16th Lok Sabha from 2016 to 2019. After being elected a member of theRajya Sabha for Karnataka in 2020 following his defeat in the2019 Indian general election, he defeatedShashi Tharoor in the2022 Indian National Congress presidential election to succeedSonia Gandhi.[2] Under his presidency, the Congress gained 47 seats in the2024 Indian general election, forming theofficial opposition for the first time since 2014.[3][4] He is a close ally of theNehru-Gandhi family.[5]
Mallikarjun Kharge was born on 21 July 1942 in the Varawatti, Bhalki Taluk,Bidar district,Karnataka in aDalit family to Saibavva and Mapanna Kharge.[6]
In 1948, Kharge lost his mother and sister in a fire set off by theRazakars of theNizam of Hyderabad, while he himself had a narrow escape at the age of 7.[7][8] 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.[9] He started his legal practice as a junior in JusticeShivaraj Patil's office and fought cases for labour unions early in his legal career.[10]
Kharge began his political career in state politics, being elected as the MLA forGurmitkal Assembly constituency andChittapur Assembly constituency consecutively from 1972 to 2008. During his tenure in state politics, he served as a minister in the ministries ofS. M. Krishna,Veerappa Moily,Sarekoppa Bangarappa, andR. Gundu Rao, in many prominent portfolios including the Home and Revenue ministries. In opposition, Kharge served as theleader of the opposition on two occasions and led theKarnataka Pradesh Congress Committee into the2008 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election as KPCC president, gaining 15 seats for the party and finishing second. He resigned from the legislature in 2009 to run for the Lok Sabha.
Kharge was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 the general election from Gulbarga. This was his tenth consecutive election victory.[11]
In the 2014 general elections, Kharge was elected from Gulbarga, beating Revunaik Belamagih from the BJP with a margin of 13,404 votes.[12][13] In June, he was appointed the Leader of theCongress party in the Lok Sabha.[14]
In the 2019 general elections, Kharge contested from the same parliamentary seat, however this time he lost toUmesh G. Jadhav from the BJP with a margin of 95,452 votes.[13]
On 12 June 2020 Kharge was elected (unopposed) to theRajya Sabha from Karnataka, at the age of 78 years.[15] On 12 February 2021, Kharge was appointedLeader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha.[16]
Kharge notably has been appointed an observer by the INC for multiple states in the past, including Assam in 2014, Punjab in 2021, and Rajasthan in 2022.[17] 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.[17]
He is known for his record of defeating all his opposition candidates in his lifetime career except one.[18] In 2023, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award fromLokmat's Parliamentary Awards.[19]
On 1 October 2022, he filed nominations to contest theINC party presidential polls and won with 7897 votes.[20] He was the first INC President not from theGandhi family in 24 years.[21] He was 61st person to hold the post and 98th president of the party.[22] He was resigned as Leader of the Opposition in 1 October 2022 before nomination, but reinsisted in December 2022.[23] In the first 2 years of his presidency, the Congress formed governments in Himachal Pradesh in 2022,Telangana in 2023, and forming a coalition in Jharkhand in 2024, while losing power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in 2023.[24][25][26][27] The Congress opted out of Omar Abdullah’s government in Jammu Kashmir after it sought two ministries but was offered only one even though both parties contested election in alliance. It had won just six of the 39 seats it contested in the state.[28]
Kharge's name was proposed as the prime ministerial candidate of theIndian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance for the2024 general election. The proposal was made byWest Bengal chief ministerMamata Banerjee and was supported byDelhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal.[29] However, other senior leaders of the alliance such asRashtriya Janata Dal leaderLalu Yadav disapproved the proposal.[30] However, he was made as chairman of alliance.[31]
| Year | Election | Party | Constituency | Result | Votes gained | Vote share% | Margin | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Mysore Legislative Assembly | INC | Gurmitkal | Won | 16,796 | 62.68%% | 9,440 | [32] | |
| 1978 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 30,380 | 64.99% | 16,599 | [33] | |||
| 1983 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 30,933 | 67.65% | 16,143 | [34] | |||
| 1985 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 32,669 | 66% | 17,673 | [35] | |||
| 1989 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 39,608 | 64.23% | 19,969 | [36] | |||
| 1994 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 42,588 | 58.76% | 19,336 | [37] | |||
| 1999 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 54,569 | 76.76% | 47,124 | [38] | |||
| 2004 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 37,006 | 45.99% | 18,547 | [39] | |||
| 2008 | Karnataka Legislative Assembly | Won | 49,837 | 52.13% | 17,442 | [40] | |||
| 2009 | 15th Lok Sabha | Gulbarga | Won | 3,45,241 | 45.46% | 13,404 | [41] | ||
| 2014 | 16th Lok Sabha | Won | 5,07,193 | 50.83% | 74,733 | [42] | |||
| 2019 | 17th Lok Sabha | Lost | 5,24,740 | 44.08% | 95,452 | [43] | |||
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 1972–1978 | Elected to5th Mysore Assembly (1st Term)
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| 1978–1983 | Elected to6th Karnataka Assembly (2nd Term)
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| 1983–1985 | Elected to7th Karnataka Assembly (3rd Term)
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| 1985–1989 | Elected to8th Karnataka Assembly (4th Term)
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| 1989–1994 | Elected to9th Karnataka Assembly (5th Term)
|
| 1994–1999 | Elected to10th Karnataka Assembly (6th Term)
|
| 1999–2004 | Elected to11th Karnataka Assembly (7th Term)
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| 2004–2008 | Elected to12th Karnataka Assembly (8th Term)
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| 2008–2009 | Elected to13th Karnataka Assembly (9th Term)
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| 2009–2014 | Elected to15th Lok Sabha (1st Term)
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| 2014–2019 | Elected to16th Lok Sabha (2nd Term)
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| 2020–Present | Elected toRajya Sabha (1st Term)
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Kharge married Radhabai on 13 May 1968; they have 2 daughters and 3 sons.[9][44] Kharge is a polyglot and can speak English, Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Telugu and Marathi.[45] His sonPriyank Kharge is an MLA from theChittapur assembly constituency,[7] and his son-in-lawRadhakrishna is an MP from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency, Kharge's former seat in the Lok Sabha.
He is the Founder-Chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust that has built theBuddha Vihar in Gulbarga, India.[46] He is also a patron of theChowdiah 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.[47]
| Lok Sabha | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forGulbarga 2009–2019 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Minister of Labour and Employment 2009–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Railways 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee 2005–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of theIndian National Congress in theLok Sabha 2014–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha 2022– | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | President of theIndian National Congress 2022–present | Incumbent |
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