Mallikarjun Kharge

**Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge** (born 21 July 1942) is an Indian politician. He is the Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha from 17 December 2022. He is the Minister of Railways and Minister of Labour and Employment. Kharge is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. He was a Member of Parliament for Gulbarga, Karnataka from 2009 to 2019. On October 19, 2022, Kharge was elected as the President of the Congress Party.

## Early life and education

Mallikarjun Kharge was born on 21 July 1942 in Varavatti village, which is in Kalaburagi district (formerly Gulbarga) in Karnataka, India. He belonged to a poor family and faced many difficulties in his early life. His family belonged to the Dalit community, which faced social and economic challenges in India.
He studied at Government College, Gulbarga and later earned a law degree from Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College. Before entering politics, Kharge worked as a lawyer and helped people with labour and land issues.

## Political career

Kharge started his political career in the 1960s by joining the Indian National Congress. He was first elected as a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1972 from Gurmitkal constituency. He won nine consecutive times in state elections, which made him one of the most successful politicians in Karnataka.

During his long political career, Kharge held many positions in the Karnataka state government, such as:

- Minister for Education

- Minister of Home Affairs

- Minister of Water Resources

- Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly

## National politics

In 2009, Kharge was elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) from Gulbarga. He was re-elected in 2014. During his time in the central government, he served as:

- Minister of Labour and Employment (2009–2013)

- Minister of Railways (2013–2014)

He was known for his speeches in Parliament and for standing up for workers’ rights and social justice.

## Rajya Sabha and party leadership

After losing the 2019 general election from Gulbarga, Kharge was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020. On 17 December 2022, he became the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

On 19 October 2022, he was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress,   becoming the first person outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the post in over two decades.

## Personal life

Kharge is married to Radhabai Kharge, and they have children. One of his sons, Priyank Kharge, is also a politician and has served as a minister in the Karnataka state government.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **image**: Mallikarjun Kharge.jpg
- **office**: 74th List of presidents of the Indian National Congress, President of Indian National Congress
- **term start**: 26 October 2022
- **predecessor**: Rahul Gandhi
- **office1**: Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha
- **1blankname1**: Chairman
- **1namedata1**: Venkaiah Naidu
 Jagdeep Dhankhar
- **2blankname1**: Prime Minister
- **2namedata1**: Narendra Modi
- **predecessor1**: Ghulam Nabi Azad
- **term start1**: and
- **term end1**: 1 October 2022 and Incumbent
- **office2**: Indian National Congress, Leader of Indian National Congress, Lok Sabha
- **term start2**: 4 June 2014
- **term end2**: 16 June 2019
- **predecessor2**: Sushilkumar Shinde
- **successor2**: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
- **office3**: Public Accounts Committee (India), Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee
- **term start3**: 2016
- **term end3**: 2019
- **appointed3**: Sumitra Mahajan
- **predecessor3**: K V Thomas
- **successor3**: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
- **office4**: Ministry of Railways (India), Minister of Railways
- **primeminister4**: Manmohan Singh
- **term start4**: 17 June 2013
- **term end4**: 26 May 2014
- **predecessor4**: C. P. Joshi
- **successor4**: D. V. Sadananda Gowda
- **office5**: Minister of Labour and Employment (India), Minister of Labour and Employment
- **primeminister5**: Manmohan Singh
- **term start5**: 29 May 2009
- **term end5**: 16 June 2013
- **predecessor5**: Oscar Fernandes
- **successor5**: Sis Ram Ola
- **office6**: Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly
- **term start6**: 19 December 1996
- **term end6**: 7 July 1999
- **predecessor6**: B. S. Yediyurappa
- **successor6**: Jagadish Shettar
- **term start7**: 5 June 2008
- **term end7**: 28 May 2009
- **predecessor7**: N. Dharam Singh
- **successor7**: Siddaramaiah
- **office8**: Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
- **constituency8**: Karnataka
- **predecessor8**: Rajeev Gowda
- **term start8**: 12 June 2020
- **office9**: General Secretary of
All India Congress Committee, AICC and Incharge for Maharashtra
- **term start9**: 22 June 2018
- **term end9**: 11 September 2020
- **predecessor9**: Position Created
- **successor9**: H. K. Patil
- **office10**: Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
- **constituency10**: Gulbarga (Lok Sabha constituency), Gulbarga
- **term start10**: 31 May 2009
- **term end10**: 23 May 2019
- **predecessor10**: Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi
- **successor10**: Umesh. G. Jadhav
- **office11**: President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee
- **term start11**: 2005
- **term end11**: 2008
- **predecessor11**: Janardhana Poojary
- **successor11**: R. V. Deshpande
- **office12**: Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Karnataka
- **predecessor12**: N. Yenkappa
- **successor12**: Baburao Chinchansur
- **term start12**: 1972
- **term end12**: 2008
- **constituency12**: Gurmitkal (Vidhana Sabha constituency), Gurmitkal
- **term start13**: 2008
- **term end13**: 2009
- **constituency13**: Chittapur (Vidhana Sabha constituency), Chittapur
- **predecessor13**: Vishwanath Patil Hebbal
- **successor13**: Valmiki Naik
- **office14**: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Karnataka
- **term start14**: 1999
- **term end14**: 2004
- **2blankname14**: Chief Minister
- **2namedata14**: S. M. Krishna
- **office15**: Ministry of Rural Development (India), Minister of Rural Development, Government of Karnataka
- **term start15**: 1978
- **term end15**: 1980
- **term start16**: 1990
- **term end16**: 1992
- **office17**: Minister of Revenue, Government of Karnataka
- **term start17**: 1980
- **term end17**: 1983
- **2blankname17**: Chief Minister
- **2namedata17**: Gundu Rao
- **term start18**: 1990
- **term end18**: 1992
- **2blankname18**: Chief Minister
- **2namedata18**: Bangarappa
- **office19**: Minister for Co-Operation in  Government of Karnataka
- **term start19**: 1992
- **term end19**: 1994
- **2blankname19**: Chief Minister
- **2namedata19**: Veerappa Moily
- **birth place**: Warwatti, Bhalki taluka, Bidar district, Hyderabad State, British Raj, British India (present-day Karnataka, India)
- **party**: Indian National Congress
- **children**: 5
- **alma mater**: Government College, Gulbarga
 Gulbarga University