Who is Mallikarjun Kharge Congress High Command Choice For President

Until a few hours ago there were three contenders for the Congress President Race with Shashi Tharoor, Digvijaya Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge (80) who was the choice of the Gandhi family for the post in the last hour.

On Friday, leader Digvijaya Singh opted out of the race after he had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Kharge, which now leaves Shashi Tharoor as the only other candidate in the fray. They both are expected to file their nominations by 3 pm today. It is understood that Kharge would be elected as the Congress President and Shashi Tharoor’s name was just nominal and the actual leader would be Mallikarjun Kharge.

Kharge is one of the most experienced persons in the party and he is a Dalit leader belonging to the Scheduled Caste community. Interestingly he will be the second AICC President from South India after PV Narasimha Rao ( from erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh) was made the Congress President in 1994. Effectively he is the second non-Gandhi person to be nominated for the post of AICC President after PV Narasimha Rao after a gap of almost 28 years.

Also Read: List Of Non-Gandhi Party Presidents After Independence

A few facts about Mallikarjuna Kharge

A veteran Congress leader, 80-year-old Kharge hails from Gulbarga, Karnataka.

A lawyer by profession, he practised labour law.

An influential labour union leader, he joined Congress in 1969.

He first contested the Karnataka State Assembly elections in 1972 and won from Gurmitkal constituency.

He also served as a Karnataka Minister, including the Minister for Primary Education. Rural Development and Panchayath Raj, Revenue, Co-operation, Medium and Large Industries, Home, Transport and Water Resources in several cabinets.

Unfortunately, he could never become the Chief Minister of Karnataka despite being considered a front-runner to the post twice.

He was also a leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.

He won elections a record 10 consecutive times since 1972.

He was also an MP from 2009-2019.

He also served as the Karnataka Leather Corporation Chairman.

He served as the Central Minister of Railways and Minister of Labour and Employment during Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister.

Kharge has been favoured by the Gandhi’s when he was picked as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha in 2014-2019, when Rahul Gandhi was unwilling.

In 2020 Kharge was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

He was also picked by Congress as the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha in 2021.

Kharge practises Buddhism but did not convert.

He is married to Radhabai Kharge and has five children.

Also Read:  Digivijaya Singh Quits Congress President Race After Sonia Gandhi Fields Kharge