Mallikarjun Kharge

2022-06-10T03:33:52Z

2409:4071:209B:BD6:0:0:B8E:C8A4:

{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = MallikarjunKharge.jpg
| office = [[Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha]]
| 1blankname = Chairman
| 1namedata = [[Venkaiah Naidu]]
| 2blankname = Prime Minister
| 2namedata = [[Narendra Modi]]
| predecessor = [[Ghulam Nabi Azad]]
| successor =
|term_start = {{Start date|2021|02|16|df=yes}}
|term_end =
|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]]
{{small|([[Speaker of the Lok Sabha|Lok Sabha Speaker]])}}
|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]]
| successor8 =
| term_start8 = 12 June 2020
| term_end8 =
|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_date = {{birth date and age|1942|7|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = Warwatti, Bhalki taluka, [[Bidar district]], [[Hyderabad State]], [[British Raj|British India]] (present-day [[Karnataka]], [[India]])
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = [[Indian National Congress]]
|otherparty =
|spouse = {{Marriage|Radhabai Kharge|13 May 1968}}
|children = 5
|alma_mater = Government College, Gulbarga [[Gulbarga University]]
}}
'''Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge''' (born 21 July 1942) is an Indian politician who is the current [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]] from [[Karnataka]] and [[Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha|Leader of the Opposition of Rajya Sabha]] from 16 February 2021.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/congress-names-mallikarjun-kharge-for-leader-of-opposition-in-rajya-sabha/articleshow/80874690.cms | title=Congress names Mallikarjun Kharge for leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha | work=[[The Times of India]] | date=12 February 2021 | access-date=12 February 2021}}</ref> He is the former [[Ministry of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] and [[Ministry of Labour and Employment (India)|Minister of Labour and Employment]] in the [[Government of India]]. Kharge is a member of the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) political party<ref>{{cite news|title=Spectacular rise for Kharge|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/29/stories/2009052953700400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602195153/http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/29/stories/2009052953700400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 June 2009|date=29 May 2009|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date = 29 May 2009}}</ref> and was a [[Parliament of India|Member of Parliament]] for [[Gulbarga (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gulbarga]], [[Karnataka]] during 2009–2019.

He is a senior Karnataka politician and was the [[Leader of opposition]] in the [[2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election|Karnataka Legislative Assembly]]. He was the President of [[Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee]] during the 2008 Karnataka State Assembly Elections.

He has won elections a record 10 consecutive times having won the Assembly elections an unprecedented 9 consecutive times (1972, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009) and lost in the 2019 General Elections against Umesh Jadhav from Gulbarga. Mallikarjun Kharge was the leader of the congress party in Lok Sabha during 2014–2019.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Indian Express|title=Team Manmohan|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-newlook-team-manmohan/467056/3}}</ref>

==Early life and background==
Mallikarjun Kharge was born in the Varawatti, Bhalki Taluk, [[Bidar district]], [[Karnataka]] to Mapanna Kharge and Sabavva.<ref name=about/> He finished his schooling from Nutan Vidyalaya in Gulbarga and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Government College, [[Gulbarga]] and his law degree from the Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College in Gulbarga.<ref name=about/> He started his legal practice as a junior in Justice [[Shivaraj Patil]]'s office and fought cases for labour unions early in his legal career.<ref name=career>{{cite web|title=Early life of Kharge|url=http://www.kharge.com/demo/political-career/|publisher=Press Journal Kharge|access-date=5 June 2014}}</ref>

==Political career==
===Early career===
Kharge started his political career as a student union leader while in the Government College, Gulbarga when he was elected as the General Secretary of the students' body. In 1969, he became the legal advisor to the MSK Mills Employees' Union. He was also an influential labour union leader of Samyukta Majdoor Sangha and led many agitations fighting for the rights of labourers.<ref>{{cite news
|newspaper = Indian Express
|title = Friends, teachers laud Kharge
|url = http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/article123735.ece
}}</ref> In 1969, he joined the Indian National Congress and became President of the Gulbarga City Congress Committee

===Rise in Karnataka's political scene===
He first contested the Karnataka State Assembly elections in 1972 and won from [[Gurmitkal (Vidhana Sabha constituency)|Gurmitkal]] constituency. In 1973, he was appointed the Chairman of the Octroi Abolition Committee which went into the question of revitalising the economy of the municipal and civic bodies in the state of Karnataka. Based on its report, the then [[Devaraj Urs]] government abolished the levy of octroi at multiple points.<ref name=octroi>{{cite news|title=Kharge on octroi during 1973 period|url=http://www.hindu.com/2001/08/22/stories/0422210o.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607000150/http://www.hindu.com/2001/08/22/stories/0422210o.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 June 2014|access-date=5 June 2014|work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> In 1974, he was appointed the Chairman of state-owned Leather Development Corporation and worked to improve the living conditions of thousands of cobblers who were indulging in the leather tanning industry. Work sheds cum residences were built across the state for their benefit during this time. In 1976, he was appointed the Minister of State for Primary Education, during which time, over 16,000 backlog vacancies of SC/STs teachers were filled up by recruiting them directly into the service. Grants under grant-in-aid code were given to schools run by SC/ST managements for the first time.<ref name=work>{{cite web|title=Early political career|url=http://dpal.kar.nic.in/pdf_files/25%20of%201974%20(E).pdf|website=Department of Parliamentary Affairs & Legislation|access-date=5 June 2014}}</ref>

In 1978, he was elected for the second time as MLA from [[Gurmitkal (Vidhana Sabha constituency)|Gurmitkal]] constituency and was appointed Minister of State for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in the Devaraj Urs ministry. In 1980, he became the Minister for Revenue in the [[Gundu Rao]] Cabinet. During this time, the focus was on effective land reforms, resulting in giving occupancy rights to millions of land-less tillers and labourers. More than 400 land tribunals were constituted to expedite the transfer of land rights to the tillers.<ref name="early work">{{cite web|title=Kharge as Chairman of State-owned Leather Development Corporation|url=http://agkar.cag.gov.in/sites/agkar.cag.gov.in/files/WEBFM/auditreport/2013/English%20PSU%202013.pdf|website=cag.gov.in|publisher=Indian Audit and Accounts Department|access-date=5 June 2014}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1983, he was elected for the third time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal. In 1985, he was elected for the fourth time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal and was appointed the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.

In 1989, he was elected for the fifth time to the Karnataka Assembly from Gurmitkal. In 1990, he joined [[Bangarappa]]’s Cabinet as the Minister for Revenue, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, portfolios he had held earlier and brought about significant change. Restarting the Land Reforms process that had stopped in the interim, resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of land being registered in the name of the landless tillers.<ref name=perfromance>{{cite web|title=Kharge performance in Karnataka|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/SR_KeyHighLights/SE_1989/Statistical_Report_karnataka_1989.pdf|website=Election Commission of India|access-date=5 June 2014}}</ref>

Between 1992 and 1994, he was the Minister for Co-operation, Medium and Large Industries in the [[Veerappa Moily]] Cabinet. In 1994, he was elected for the sixth time to the Karnataka Assembly from [[Gurmitkal (Vidhana Sabha constituency)|Gurmitkal]] and became the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. In 1999, he was elected for the seventh time to the Karnataka Assembly and was a front-runner to the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka. He became Minister for Home in the [[S. M. Krishna]] Cabinet during a particularly trying time for Karnataka especially the [[Dr. Rajkumar|Rajkumar]] kidnap by the notorious poacher [[Veerappan]] and the Cauvery Riots. In 2004, he was elected for the eighth consecutive time to the Karnataka Assembly and was once again considered a front-runner to the post of the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He became the Minister for Transport and Water Resources in the [[Dharam Singh]]-led coalition government.

In 2005, he was appointed the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. In the Panchayat elections held soon after, Congress won the largest number of seats compared to BJP and JD(S) indicating a revival of the Congress fortunes in the rural areas of Karnataka.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper = Indian Express|title = Congress scores big win in local polls|url = http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/84817/}}</ref> In 2008, he was elected for the record ninth consecutive time to the Assembly from [[Chittapur (Vidhana Sabha constituency)|Chitapur]]. Though the Congress party put up a better show when compared to the 2004 elections, the Congress lost the elections with a majority of the senior leaders losing. He was appointed the Leader of the Opposition for the second time in 2008. In 2009, Kharge contested the general elections from Gulbarga Parliamentary Constituency and won his tenth consecutive election.<ref name=win>{{cite news|last1=Phukan|first1=Sandip|title=Mallikarjun Kharge consecutive win|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mallikarjun-kharge-not-rahul-gandhi-to-lead-congress-in-lok-sabha-534829|access-date=5 June 2014|work=NDTV|date=3 June 2014}}</ref>

In the 2014 general elections, Kharge contested and won from the Gulbarga parliamentary seat, beating his closest rival from the BJP by over 73,000 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gulbarga(Karnataka) Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 -Gulbarga Parliamentary Constituency, Winning MP and Party Name |url=http://www.elections.in/karnataka/parliamentary-constituencies/gulbarga.html |website=www.elections.in |access-date=12 February 2021}}</ref> In June, he was appointed the Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sonia picks Mallikarjun Kharge over 'unwilling' Rahul as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/sonia-picks-mallikarjun-kharge-over-unwilling-rahul-as-leader-of-opposition-in-lok-sabha/ |access-date=12 February 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=3 June 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

Kharge contested the [[2019 Indian general election|2019 general elections]] against [[Umesh. G. Jadhav]], a BJP candidate, in [[Gulbarga (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency]] of [[Karnataka]]. Jadhav defeated Mallikarjun Kharge by a margin of 95,452 votes. Jadhav polled 6,20,192 votes while Kharge got only 5,24,740 votes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/elections/article/shocking-congress-leader-mallikarjun-kharge-defeated-by-bjp-s-umesh-jadhav-in-gulbarga/423853|title=Shocking! Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge defeated by BJP's Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga election results 2019|work=Times Now|date=23 May 2019|access-date=23 May 2019}}</ref>

On 12 June 2020 Kharge was elected (unopposed) to the [[Rajya Sabha]] from Karnataka, at the age of 78 years.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Joshi |first1=Bharath |title=H D Deve Gowda, Mallikarjun Kharge elected unanimously to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/h-d-deve-gowda-mallikarjun-kharge-elected-unanimously-to-rajya-sabha-from-karnataka-848832.html |access-date=12 February 2021 |work=Deccan Herald |date=12 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

On 12 February 2021, Kharge was appointed [[Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha|Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha]].<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mallikarjun-kharge-likely-to-be-leader-of-opposition-in-rajya-sabha-congress-sources/article33818232.ece |title=Kharge to be Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha|work=The Hindu|date=12 February 2021|access-date=12 February 2021}}</ref>

==Philanthropic and social activities==
He is the Founder-Chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust that has built the Buddha Vihar in Gulbarga, India.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Buddha vihar Gulbarga|title = About Buddha Vihar, Gulbarga|url=http://www.buddhavihar.org/about.html}}</ref>

He is the Patron of [[Chowdiah Memorial Hall]] which is one of the premier concert and theatre venues in Bangalore and helped the centre get over its debts and aided the centre's plans for renovation.<ref>{{cite news|title=A grand bow to the arts|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/07/01/stories/2005070103420300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127183920/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/07/01/stories/2005070103420300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 January 2011|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=1 July 2005}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Kharge married Radhabai on 13 May 1968 and has two daughters and three sons.<ref name=about>{{cite web|title=Detailed Profile|url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Members/memberbioprofile.aspx?mpsno=4315&lastls=16|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref><ref name=personal>{{cite news|title=Personal life of Mallikarjun Kharge |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/congress-appoints-mallikarjun-kharge-as-its-leader-in-lok-sabha-114060201323_1.html |access-date=5 June 2014 |work=Business Standard |date=3 June 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140603063301/http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/congress-appoints-mallikarjun-kharge-as-its-leader-in-lok-sabha-114060201323_1.html |archive-date=3 June 2014 }}</ref> In 2006, Kharge said he follows [[Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hundreds embrace Buddhism in Gulbarga {{!}} Bengaluru News – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Hundreds-embrace-Buddhism-in-Gulbarga/articleshow/2171942.cms?referral=PM&from=mdr |access-date=9 December 2019 |work=The Times of India |date=15 October 2006 |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|in-lwr}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for [[Gulbarga (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gulbarga]] |years=2009–2019}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Umesh. G. Jadhav]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Oscar Fernandes]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Labour and Employment (India)|Minister of Labour and Employment]]|years=2009–2013}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sis Ram Ola]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[C. P. Joshi|CP Joshi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]]|years=2013–2014}}
{{s-aft|after=[[D. V. Sadananda Gowda|DV Sadananda Gowda]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Janardhana Poojary]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of [[Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee]] |years=2005–2008}}
{{s-aft|after=[[R. V. Deshpande]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Sushilkumar Shinde]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the [[Indian National Congress]] in the [[Lok Sabha]]|years=2014–2019}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Ghulam Nabi Azad]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (India)|Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha]]|years=2021 – Present}}
{{s-inc}}
|-
{{s-end}}

{{Cabinet of Manmohan Singh}}
{{Railway Ministers of India}}
{{15th LS members from Karnataka}}
{{16th LS members from Karnataka}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kharge, Mallikarjun}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:15th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:16th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:Ambedkarites]]
[[Category:Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhists]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Kannada people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Members of the Cabinet of India]]
[[Category:Labour ministers of India]]
[[Category:People from Bidar district]]
[[Category:People from Kalaburagi]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Mysore MLAs 1972–1977]]
[[Category:Members of the Mysore Legislature]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1978–1983]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1983–1985]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1985–1989]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1989–1994]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1994–1999]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1999–2004]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 2004–2007]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 2008–2013]]

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Mallikarjun Kharge