In 2005, Kharge was made president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KCC). He retained the position till 2008. In 2009, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the first time.
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They say politics and leadership runs, if not in the family, then in the blood. Mallikarjun Kharge, former minister and senior leader is set to take over the grand old party of India, the Congress, as the first non-Gandhi family president hails from a very humble farmer’s family. Born in the Varavatti area of the Bidar district in Karnataka, Kharge completed his schooling from Nutan Vidyalaya in Gulbarga before graduating from a government college in the same district. He was the general secretary of a local student union during his young days.
After completing LLB from Gulbarga’s Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College, Kharge started practicing law. In 1969, he became legal advisor to MSK Mills Employees’ Union, where he fought for the workers’ rights. Over the years he became an influential leader of the United Trade Union.
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Mallikarjun Kharge joined the Congress in 1969. Considering his popularity in the area, the party made him president of Gulbarga Congress Committee. In 1972, he was elected MLA from the Gurmitkal assembly seat of Karnataka for the first time. Ever since, there was no looking back for Kharge. He was elected MLA from the Gurmitkal seat as many as nine times. During this time, he was elevated to the position of a minister and held various portfolios.
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In 2005, Kharge was made president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KCC). He retained the position till 2008. In 2009, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the first time.
Kharge is considered a trusted confidant of the Gandhi family. He also got rewarded for his loyalty to the party from time to time in the form of coveted positions in the organisation.
In 2014, Kharge was made leader of the party in the Lok Sabha. After the defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the party nominated him as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 2020. When the term of Ghulam Nabi Azad ended last year, Kharge was made Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
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