Mallikarjun Kharge has more than 50 years of experience in politics.
A venerable loyalist of the Gandhi family, Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge joined the Congress's presidential contest on Friday, in a bid widely seen as aimed to help them retain their control on the party.
Here are five facts about Mallikarjun Kharge:
If elected, he will be the second Congress President from Karnataka after S Nijalingappa, and also a Dalit leader to hold the post after Jagjivan Ram. However, whenever his antecedents have come into focus during electoral contests, he has said, "Why do you keep saying Dalit again and again? Don't say that. I'm a Congressman."
Known as "Solillada Saradara" (a leader without defeat) in his home state of Karnataka, Mr Kharge's undefeated record at elections held up till the 2014 Lok Sabha polls despite a sweep by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. However, he lost in the 2019 elections.
A leader with more than 50 years of experience in politics, 80-year-old Mr Kharge, has seen a steady rise in his career graph from humble beginnings as a union leader in his home-district of Gulbarga, now Kalaburagi. He had a legal practice before joining politics. Sober by temperament and nature, Mr Kharge has rarely courted controversy.
He joined the Indian National Congress in 1969. He was a nine-time MLA from Gurmitkal before he fought the Lok Sabha poll in 2009 and has been a two-time MP from Gulbarga parliamentary segment. He has also served in the central government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
He is a follower of Buddhism and is the founder-chairman of Siddharth Vihar Trust that has built the Buddha Vihar complex in Gulbarga. He has two daughters and three sons. One of the sons, Priyank Kharge, is an MLA and a former minister.
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