'Solillada Saradara' Kharge's journey from a union leader to Congress President

Mallikarjun Kharge, hailed by Congress cadres as "Solillada Saradara", a leader who has faced no defeat, rose from humble beginnings as a union leader to become the president of the nation's grand old party. In his political career spanning over five decades, he deftly steered the ministries he held and remained a steadfast Gandhi family loyalist notwithstanding the ebb and flow of politics and power.

Be it the Cauvery river water dispute or the kidnapping of iconic Kannada top star, late Rajkumar, he has handled such crisis situations as Home Minister of Karnataka, over two decades ago. Kharge's public life began as a union leader in his home district of Gulbarga, now Kalaburagi. He joined the Congress party in 1969 and became the President of the Gulbarga City Congress Committee.

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A well-known Kabbadi and hockey player in his youth, the 80-year-old leader remained invincible in electoral politics for decades and his proficiency in Hindi, English, Marathi, Urdu besides Kannada is expected to stand him in good stead in his new role. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he bucked the Narendra Modi wave that swept Karnataka, particularly the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, and won from Gulbarga with a margin of over 74,000 votes.

A nine-time MLA, Gurmitkal assembly constituency was his home turf before he set his sight in 2009 on national politics. He has been a two-time MP from Gulbarga parliamentary segment. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the veteran leader was defeated by BJP's Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes. For Kharge, popularly known as "Solillada Saradara", (a leader without defeat), it was the first electoral loss in his political career.

However, he took it in his stride and continued to move on. A staunch Congressman, Kharge had held divergent portfolios in government that enriched his experience as an administrator. He has served as Union Cabinet Minister for Labour and Employment, Railways, Social Justice and Empowerment in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He had also held various portfolios in successive Congress governments that governed Karnataka.

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Kharge has also served as the leader of the opposition in Karnataka Assembly and President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. Kharge was leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019. Kharge was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in June 2020 and was the 17th Leader of the Opposition in Upper House until recently.

He was several times seen as a top contender to become the Chief Minister in Karnataka, but could never occupy the post. Sober by temperament and nature, Kharge has never landed in any major political trouble or controversy.

Born in a poor family at Varavatti in Bidar district on July 21, 1942, he went school and college in Kalaburagi. A graduate in law, he practiced law before plunging into politics. He is a follower of Buddhism and is the founder-chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust that has built the Buddha Vihar complex in Kalaburagi. Married to Radhabai on May 13, 1968, Kharge has two daughters and three sons.

One son, Priyank Kharge is an MLA and a former minister in Karnataka. A vocal critic of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Kharge's elevation has given rise to fresh hopes that it would unify the party leadership in the state as Assembly election is due next year. He is the second All India Congress Committee President from Karnataka after S Nijalingappa and also the second Dalit leader after Jagjivan Ram to hold the top post.