Bengaluru: Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi household loyalist from Karnataka, has change into the Congress’ first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.
The 80-year-old chief succeeds Sonia Gandhi on the grand outdated get together’s highest workplace.
Kharge defeated Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor within the October 17 Congress’ Presidential polls, which noticed over 9,500 delegates throughout the nation voting.
A pacesetter with greater than 50 years of expertise in politics, he’s additionally the second AICC President from Karnataka after S Nijalingappa and in addition second Dalit chief after Jagjivan Ram to carry the put up.
Kharge was elected MLA for 9 instances in a row, seeing a gentle rise in his profession graph from humble beginnings as a union chief in his residence district of Gulbarga (renamed as Kalaburagi).
He joined the get together in 1969 and went on to change into President of the Gulbarga Metropolis Congress Committee.
That Kharge was unconquerable on the hustings was mirrored till 2014 Lok Sabha polls through which he bucked the Narendra Modi wave that swept Karnataka, significantly Hyderabad-Karnataka area, and had received from Gulbarga with a margin of over 74,000 votes.
He has received from Gurmitkal meeting constituency 9 instances earlier than he plunged into the Lok Sabha ballot area in 2009 and has been a two time MP from Gulbarga parliamentary phase.
Nevertheless, within the 2019 Lok Sabha polls the veteran chief was defeated by BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes.
For Kharge, popularly referred to as “solillada Saradara”, (a pacesetter with out defeat), this was the primary electoral loss in his political life spanning greater than 5 many years.
A tough-boiled Congressman and dependable to the core to the Gandhi household, Kharge has performed a number of roles in numerous ministries that has enriched his expertise as an administrator.
He has additionally served because the chief of the opposition in Karnataka Meeting and President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
Kharge was chief of the Congress get together in Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019 however couldn’t change into the chief of opposition, because the grand outdated get together couldn’t get the put up as its numbers had been lower than the mandated 10 p.c of the full variety of seats within the Decrease Home.
He has served as Union Cupboard Minister for Labour and Employment, additionally Railways and Social Justice and Empowerment- within the Manmohan Singh-led UPA authorities.
He had additionally held numerous portfolios in successive Congress governments that ruled the state.
He was Residence Minister of Karnataka in one of the making an attempt instances, underneath S M Krishna because the Chief Minister, because the tenure noticed kidnapping of Kannada thespian Rajkumar by the infamous poacher Veerappan and the Cauvery river water battle, each of which had created a legislation and order state of affairs within the state.
Kharge was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in June 2020 and was the seventeenth Chief of the Opposition in Higher Home till not too long ago, forward of his resignation from the put up to contest the Congress’ Presidential election. He had succeeded Ghulam Nabi Azad as LoP in February final yr.
He was a number of instances seen as a high contender to change into the Chief Minister in Karnataka, however may by no means occupy the put up.
“Why do you retain saying Dalit many times? Do not say that. I am a Congressman,” Kharge has mentioned a number of instances prior to now, at any time when the Dalit CM subject cropped up with him because the contender.
Sober by temperament and nature, Kharge has by no means landed in any main political bother spot or controversy.
Born in a poor household at Varavatti in Bidar district on July 21, 1942, he did his education and BA in addition to Legislation in Kalaburagi. He was into authorized observe for a while earlier than plunging into politics.
He’s a follower of Buddhism and is the founder-chairman of Siddharth Vihar Belief that has constructed the Buddha Vihar complicated in Kalaburagi.
Married to Radhabai on Might 13, 1968, they’ve two daughters and three sons. One son, Priyank Kharge is a MLA and a former Minister in Karnataka.
A vocal critic of the Narendra Modi-led authorities, Kharge’s elevation to go the Congress is predicted to support the cadre amid hopes that it could unify the get together management within the state that goes to Meeting polls by April subsequent yr.
