Mallikarjun Kharge to succeed Ghulam Nabi Azad as Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha: Congress sources
Congress ignores deputy leader Anand Sharma for the key post, writes to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for appointing Kharge to the post of leader of opposition after Azad's retirement.
FollowSenior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to replace Ghulam Nabi Azad as the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the party has written to the chairman of the Upper House of Parliament in this regard, sources said.
The term of Azad, who has been the Congress’s face in the Rajya Sabha for more than two decades, expires on February 15. Since the assembly in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir is dissolved in August 2019, the Rajya Sabha will have no members from the Union Territory.
Kharge, a Dalit stalwart of the Congress, was leader of the party in the 16th Lok Sabha. The grand old party could not get the leader of opposition's post in the previous and the current Lok Sabha as its numbers were less than the mandated 10% of the total number of seats in the Lower House for claiming the post.
He was known for vociferous opposition of the government and as a promoter of sloganeering and disruption -- something he always said the BJP mastered in the 14th Lok Sabha under the leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.
Kharge, a leader from Karnataka, has served as Union Cabinet Minister- Labour and Employment, also Railways and Social Justice and Empowerment in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.
He had also held various portfolios in successive Congress governments that governed the state and was also president of Karnataka Congress and leader of opposition in the state assembly.
He lost the 2019 Lok Sabha election and hence made it to Rajya Sabha.
A Gandhi loyalist Kharge would be expected to ensure coordination in Congress’ parliamentary strategy and avoid embarrassing situations as last week’s where the party MPs of RS were seen debating and those in LS were seen disrupting.
Congress leaders privately said the closeness to Gandhis is Kharge’s major asset and the leadership was cut up with Azad for allowing RS to function last week.
