Mallikarjun Kharge
President of the Indian National Congress
Assumed office
26 October 2022
Preceded bySonia Gandhi
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
16 February 2021
Vice President
Deputy
Preceded byGhulam Nabi Azad
Leader of Indian National Congress, Lok Sabha
In office
4 June 2014 – 23 May 2019
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded bySushilkumar Shinde
Succeeded byAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Chairperson of INDIA
Assumed office
2024
Preceded byPosition Established
Minister of Railways
In office
17 June 2013 – 26 May 2014
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byC. P. Joshi
Succeeded byD. V. Sadananda Gowda
Minister of Labour and Employment
In office
29 May 2009 – 16 June 2013
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byOscar Fernandes
Succeeded bySis Ram Ola
Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly
In office
19 December 1996 – 7 July 1999
Preceded byB. S. Yediyurappa
Succeeded byJagadish Shettar
Preceded byN. Dharam Singh
Succeeded bySiddaramaiah
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
12 June 2020
Preceded byRajeev Gowda
ConstituencyKarnataka
General Secretary of
AICC and Incharge for Maharashtra
In office
22 June 2018 – 11 September 2020
Preceded byPosition Created
Succeeded byH. K. Patil
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
31 May 2009 – 23 May 2019
Preceded byIqbal Ahmed Saradgi
Succeeded byUmesh. G. Jadhav
ConstituencyGulbarga
President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee
In office
2005–2008
Preceded byJanardhana Poojary
Succeeded byR. V. Deshpande
Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Karnataka
In office
1972–2008
Preceded byN. Yenkappa
Succeeded byBaburao Chinchansur
ConstituencyGurmitkal
In office
2008–2009
Preceded byVishwanath Patil Hebbal
Succeeded byValmiki Naik
ConstituencyChittapur
Minister of Home Affairs, Government of Karnataka
In office
1999–2004
Chief MinisterS. M. Krishna
Minister of Rural Development, Government of Karnataka
In office
1978–1980
Personal details
Born (1942-07-21) 21 July 1942
Warwatti, Hyderabad State, British India
(now Karnataka, India)
Political party Indian National Congress
Spouse
Radhabai Kharge
​
(m. 1968)​
Children5
Parents
  • Mapanna (father)
  • Saibavva (mother)
EducationB A, L L B
Alma materGovernment College, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga
Source: sansad.in

Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge (born 21 July 1942) is an Indian lawyer and politician serving as the President of the Indian National Congress since 2022,[1] and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 2020.

He is the Leader of the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019 and chairperson of Public Accounts Committee (India) from 2016 to 2019. During the Second Manmohan Singh Ministry, 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.

He is a senior Karnataka politician and was 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.

He is known for his record of defeating all his opposition candidates in his lifetime career except one.[2]

Early life and background

Mallikarjun Kharge was born in the Varawatti, Bhalki Taluk, Bidar district, Karnataka in a Dalit family.

In 1948, Kharge lost his mother and sister in a fire set off by the Razakars or the private militia of the Nizam of Hyderabad, while he himself had a narrow escape at the age of 7.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

Early political career

Entry into politics

Kharge started his political career as a student union leader while in the Government College, Gulbarga when he was elected as the General Secretary of the students' body. In 1969, he became the legal advisor to the MSK Mills Employees' Union. He was also an influential labour union leader of Samyukta Majdoor Sangha and led many agitations fighting for the rights of labourers.[7] In 1969, he joined the Indian National Congress and became President of the Kalaburagi Town Congress Committee.[8]

Rise in Karnataka's political scene

He first contested the Karnataka State Assembly elections in 1972 and won from Gurmitkal constituency. In 1973, he was appointed the Chairman of the Octroi Abolition Committee which went into the question of revitalising the economy of the municipal and civic bodies in the state of Karnataka. Based on its report, the then Devaraj Urs government abolished the levy of octroi at multiple points.[9] In 1974, he was appointed the Chairman of state-owned Leather Development Corporation and worked to improve the living conditions of thousands of cobblers who were indulging in the leather tanning industry. Work sheds cum residences were built across the state for their benefit during this time. In 1976, he was appointed the Minister of State for Primary Education, during which time, over 16,000 backlog vacancies of SC/STs teachers were filled up by recruiting them directly into the service. Grants under grant-in-aid code were given to schools run by SC/ST managements for the first time.[10]

In 1978, he was elected for the second time as MLA from Gurmitkal constituency and was appointed Minister of State for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in the Devaraj Urs ministry. In 1980, he became the Minister for Revenue in the Gundu Rao Cabinet. During this time, the focus was on effective land reforms, resulting in giving occupancy rights to millions of land-less tillers and labourers. More than 400 land tribunals were constituted to expedite the transfer of land rights to the tillers.[11] In 1983, he was elected for the third time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal. In 1985, he was elected for the fourth time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal and was appointed the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.

In 1989, he was elected for the fifth time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal. In 1990, he joined Bangarappa's Cabinet as the Minister for Revenue, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, portfolios he had held earlier and brought about significant change. Restarting the Land Reforms process that had stopped in the interim, resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of land being registered in the name of the landless tillers.[12]

Between 1992 and 1994, he was the Minister for Co-operation, Medium and Large Industries in the Veerappa Moily Cabinet. In 1994, he was elected for the sixth time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal and became the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. In 1999, he was elected for the seventh time to the Karnataka Assembly and was a front-runner to the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka. He became Minister for Home in the S. M. Krishna Cabinet during a particularly trying time for Karnataka especially the Rajkumar kidnap by the notorious poacher Veerappan and the Cauvery Riots. In 2004, he was elected for the eighth consecutive time to the Karnataka Assembly and was once again considered a front-runner to the post of the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He became the Minister for Transport and Water Resources in the Dharam Singh-led coalition government.

In 2005, he was appointed the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. In the Panchayat elections held soon after, Congress won the largest number of seats compared to BJP and JD(S) indicating a revival of the Congress fortunes in the rural areas of Karnataka.[13] In 2008, he was elected for the record ninth consecutive time to the Assembly from Chitapur. Though the Congress party put up a better show when compared to the 2004 elections, the Congress lost the elections with a majority of the senior leaders losing. He was appointed the Leader of the Opposition for the second time in 2008.

Role in national politics

In 2009, Kharge contested the general elections from Gulbarga Parliamentary Constituency and won his tenth consecutive election.[14]

In the 2014 general elections, Kharge contested and won from the Gulbarga parliamentary seat, beating Revunaik Belamagih from the BJP with a margin of 74,737 votes.[15] In June, he was appointed the Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.[16]

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.[15]

On 12 June 2020 Kharge was elected (unopposed) to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, at the age of 78 years.[17] On 12 February 2021, Kharge was appointed Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha.[18]

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.[19] 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.[19]

President of the Indian National Congress

Election for president

On October 1, 2022, he filed nominations to contest the INC party presidential polls and won with 7897 votes.[20] He was the first INC President not from the Gandhi family in 24 years.[21]

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.[22] However, other senior leaders of the alliance such a Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Yadav disapproved the proposal.[23]

Electoral performances

Year Election Party Constituency Name Result Votes gained Vote share% Margin Ref
1972 Mysore Legislative Assembly INC  Gurmitkal Won 16,796 62.68%% 9,440 [24]
1978 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 30,380 64.99% 16,599 [24]
1983 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 30,933 67.65% 16,143 [24]
1985 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 32,669 66% 17,673 [24]
1989 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 39,608 64.23% 19,969 [24]
1994 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 42,588 58.76% 19,336 [24]
1999 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 54,569 76.76% 47,124 [24]
2004 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 37,006 45.99% 18,547 [24]
2008 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Won 49,837 52.13% 17,442 [25]
2009 15th Lok Sabha Gulbarga Won 3,45,241 45.46% 13,404 [26]
2014 16th Lok Sabha Won 5,07,193 50.83% 74,733 [26]
2019 17th Lok Sabha Lost 5,24,740 44.08% 95,452 [26]

Positions held

Year Description
1972 - 1978 Elected to 5th Mysore Assembly (1st Term)
  • Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education (1976-1978)
1978 - 1983 Elected to 6th Karnataka Assembly (2nd Term)
  • Cabinet Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (1979-1980)
  • Cabinet Minister for Revenue (1980-83)
1983 - 1985 Elected to 7th Karnataka Assembly (3rd Term)
  • Secretary, Congress Legislature Party
1985 - 1989 Elected to 8th Karnataka Assembly (4th Term)
  • Deputy Leader of Opposition
1989 - 1994 Elected to 9th Karnataka Assembly (5th Term)
  • Cabinet Minister for Revenue, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (1990-1992)
  • Cabinet Minister for Co-operation, Medium and Large Industries (1992-1994)
1994 - 1999 Elected to 10th Karnataka Assembly (6th Term)
  • Leader of Opposition (1996-99)
1999 - 2004 Elected to 11th Karnataka Assembly (7th Term)
  • Cabinet Minister for Home, Infrastructure Development and Minor Irrigation (1999-2004)
2004 - 2008 Elected to 12th Karnataka Assembly (8th Term)
  • Cabinet Minister for Water Resources and Transport (2004-2006)
2008 - 2009 Elected to 13th Karnataka Assembly (9th Term)
  • Leader of Opposition (2008-2009)
2009 - 2014 Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (1st Term)
  • Union Minister for Labour and Employment (31 May 2009 - 17 June 2013)
  • Union Minister for Railways and Social Justice and Empowerment (17 June 2013-26 May 2014)
2014 - 2019 Elected to 16th Lok Sabha (2nd Term)
  • Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party
  • Member, Business Advisory Committee (2014 - 2019)
  • Member, Standing Committee on Home Affairs (2014 - 2019)
  • Member, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Maintenance of Heritage Character and Development of Parliament House Complex (2014 - 2019)
  • Member of National Committee (NC) for commemorating the 125th Birth Anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (2014 - 2019)
  • Member, General Purposes Committee (2015 - 2019)
  • Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Defence (2015 - 2019)
  • Chairperson, Public Accounts Committee (2017 - 2019)
  • Member, Committee on Budget of Lok Sabha (2017 - 2019)
2020–Present Elected to Rajya Sabha (1st Term)

Personal life

Kharge married Radhabai on 13 May 1968 and has 2 daughters and 3 sons.[5][27] Kharge is a polyglot, claiming to be fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, Kannada and Marathi.[8] His son Priyank Kharge is an MLA from the Chittapur assembly constituency.[3]

He is the Founder-Chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust that has built the Buddha Vihar in Gulbarga, India.[28] 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.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kharge, who started as labour leader, becomes new Congress chief by beating Tharoor who speaks fine English". India Today. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Mallikarjun Kharge suffers first electoral defeat in his career". The Economic Times. 23 May 2019. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Escaping Blaze at 7 to Congress Chief at 80 Mallikarjun Kharges Firefighting Continues Son Recounts Journey for News18". 19 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "Mallikarjun Kharge officially takes charge as 1st non-Gandhi Congress president after 24 years". 26 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Detailed Profile". Government of India. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Early life of Kharge". Press Journal Kharge. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Friends, teachers laud Kharge". Indian Express.
  8. 1 2 "Mallikarjun Kharge takes the Congress reins". India Today. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Kharge on octroi during 1973 period". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Early political career" (PDF). Department of Parliamentary Affairs & Legislation. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Kharge as Chairman of State-owned Leather Development Corporation" (PDF). cag.gov.in. Indian Audit and Accounts Department. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Kharge performance in Karnataka" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Congress scores big win in local polls". Indian Express.
  14. ↑ Phukan, Sandip (3 June 2014). "Mallikarjun Kharge consecutive win". NDTV. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Gulbarga SC Election Results". www.elections.in. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Sonia picks Mallikarjun Kharge over 'unwilling' Rahul as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha". The Indian Express. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  17. ↑ Joshi, Bharath (12 June 2020). "H D Deve Gowda, Mallikarjun Kharge elected unanimously to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "Kharge to be Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha". The Hindu. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  19. 1 2 "How two states slipped out of the Congress under Mallikarjun Kharge's 'observation', while a third one is on the line". India Today. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Highlights: Newly-elected Cong president Kharge to take charge on Oct 26". Hindustan Times. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Livemint (26 October 2022). "Mallikarjun Kharge officially takes charge as 1st non-Gandhi Congress president". mint. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  22. ↑ Menon, Aditya (19 December 2023). "INDIA Bloc Meeting: Why Mallikarjun Kharge is Right Choice as PM Face But..." TheQuint. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  23. ↑ "INDIA bloc meets and sulking members in aftermath: A consistent saga in 4 parts". India Today. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Gurmitkal Assembly Constituency Election Result". Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  25. ↑ "Chittapur Assembly Constituency Election Result". Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 "Gulbarga Lok Sabha Election Result". Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  27. ↑ "Personal life of Mallikarjun Kharge". Business Standard. 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  28. ↑ "About Buddha Vihar, Gulbarga". Buddha vihar Gulbarga.
  29. ↑ "A grand bow to the arts". The Hindu. 1 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011.
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