Mallikarjun Kharge

Amid stiff competition between him and senior leader Siddaramiah for the chief ministerial post in the event of Congress winning the Assembly polls, Karnataka Congress unit president D K Shivakumar's attempts to bring AICC chief M Mallikarjun Kharge's name into the race, has raised eyebrows within party circles. The KPCC chief's move to endorse Kharge, is being seen by some as an attempt by him to checkmate Siddaramaiah's prospects, by reigniting the debate on 'Dalit CM' and 'old versus new' within the party. Shivakumar's statements that he would "love" to work under Kharge if he becomes the Chief Minister and that there are voices within the party that "injustice" has happened to the veteran leader in the past, has got tongues wagging among many in the state Congress. However, he has maintained that the party's decision is final. "He (Kharge) is our senior leader and AICC President. He has not asked for it (CM post), Congress should come to power is his only desire. He is a seni

The Congress had earlier released two lists for the polls - the first list of 124 candidates, and on Thursday, released the second list of 42 candidates, thus finalising 166 of the total 224 candidate

The ruling BJP currently holds a majority in the Assembly with 119 seats while the Congress and the JD(S) have 75 and 28 seats respectively

Days ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls, the Congress on Sunday appointed B N Chandrappa as working president of its state unit. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed Chandrappa working president in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, a party statement said. The Karnataka unit is headed by D K Shivakumar. The appointment of Chandrappa comes after Karnataka Congress working president R Dhruvanarayana passed away last month. The Congress has so far declared 142 candidates for the polls. The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the BJP in Karnataka, the only southern state where the saffron party is in power The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13.

At a time when Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar, a Congress ally in Maharashtra, has expressed doubts over Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe

Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar stated that he likes to work under AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, hinting that he would not eye the post of chief minister, if Kharge is given the same

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of not walking the talk on democratic principles and causing disruptions in Parliament to divert attention from the Opposition's demand for a JPC probe into the Adani issue. Addressing a joint press conference of opposition leaders at the Constitution Club after a "Tiranga March" from Parliament House to Vijay Chowk, he said the government's intention was to get the Budget Session washed out. He said the government talks a lot about democracy, but it does not follow what it says, and asserted that the Opposition was unitedly fighting for democracy and the Constitution. "The budget of Rs 50-lakh crore was passed in just 12 minutes, but they (BJP) always allege that the opposition parties have no interest and they keep disturbing the House," Kharge said. "The disturbance was created by the ruling party. Whenever we made a demand, we were not allowed to speak. This has happened for the first time in

Veteran politician and former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad believes that the Congress is still run by "remote control" and he also came down heavily on a "new coterie of inexperienced sycophants" who manage its affairs. Ahead of the release of his book 'Azaad -- an autobiography', the former Congress stalwart, who quit the party last year, refused to talk about the issues he had with his former colleagues, saying "the more I dig into the past, the more bitterness surfaces, and I don't want to dwell with that since I have stepped out of the party". At the same time, Azad, who was chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said he had great respect for Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, but acknowledged there were political differences with Rahul Gandhi. "...as an individual, I am not saying Rahul Gandhi is a bad person. As an individual he is a good person. Maybe we have some .

Launching a scathing attack at the centre over the "reports" of China renaming 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said

Kharge arrived in the state to take part in the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Sathyagraha

Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his corruption jibe at the Opposition, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused him of running a "bhrashtachari bhagao abhiyan" (make the corrupt flee campaign) and said he must stop his image makeover by posing as an anti-corruption crusader. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating an extension of the BJP headquarters here on Tuesday, Modi linked the coming together of opposition parties against the BJP to his government's campaign against corruption and said "anti-India" forces are attacking constitutional institutions -- the strong foundation of a rising India -- to stall the country's growth. Reacting to the remarks, Kharge in a tweet in Hindi said, "Narendra Modi ji, whose Rs 20,000 crore is invested in Adani shell companies?" "Are Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Jatin Mehta etc. members of your 'bhrashtachari bhagao abhiyan'? Are you the convenor of this alliance? Stop your image makeover

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday slammed the Centre over Rahul Gandhi being asked to vacate his official bungalow, saying that he condemns the government's attitude to "threaten, scare and humiliate" the former party chief. He also said that Gandhi could go and live with his mother Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence or he could himself provide a house by vacating one for the Gandhi scion. "They will do everything to weaken him (Rahul Gandhi). He can go live with his mother or he can come to me, I will vacate one for him. I condemn this attitude of the government to threaten, scare and humiliate," Kharge told reporters before leaving for Parliament. "In democracy, several times we have managed without a house for three-four months. I got this bungalow after six months. People do these things to humiliate others. I condemn this attitude," the Congress president said. Gandhi was on Monday asked to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him by April 22 followi

He also slammed the Central government over the ruckus in Parliament and said the government doesn't want the Parliament to function but wants to suppress the Opposition's voice on all serious issues

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday slammed the BJP over its charge that Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs with his remark for which he has been convicted in a criminal defamation case, and said why is the ruling party pained if fugitives such as Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi are criticised. Addressing a gathering at the day-long "Sankalp Satyagraha" of the Congress right outside Rajghat, Kharge also thanked all Opposition parties for standing with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress to save democracy. "This is just one satyagraha but there will be several such satyagrahas throughout the country. We will give any sacrifice that is needed to save Constitution, democracy and freedom of speech," he said. Kharge slammed the BJP for accusing Gandhi of insulting Other Backward Classes (OBCs) through his remark in 2019. Gandhi was on Thursday sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. "They talk of OBC now, is Lalit Modi

Several opposition parties on Friday held a protest march from Parliament, alleging that "democracy is in danger" and demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue. Addressing the media at Vijay Chowk, several leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, also raised the issue of Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case by a Surat court and alleged that the government was targeting the opposition with cases to suppress their voices. After a protest inside the Parliament House complex, a host of Opposition leaders from parties such as the CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), JD(U) and Aam Aadmi Party, marched to Vijay Chowk, holding placards like 'We demand JPC' and 'Save LIC' and a huge banner in front of them with 'Democracy in Danger' written on it. "We're fighting for JPC into Adani issue for months. They have a majority but the BJP is scared as there's something fishy. We'll keep fighting unitedly for it," Kharge said. He also hit out at BJP .

Chaired by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, the meeting and will take place at 5 pm in the party headquarters in the national capital

The Congress has decided to take to the streets to protest Rahul Gandhi's conviction and will meet President Droupadi Murmu along with other parties. The main opposition party announced a mass agitation on Thursday immediately after Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case and said it will not just fight the case legally but also politically. Following the court verdict, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge convened a meeting of senior party leaders and MPs at his residence where it was decided that a protest would be staged at Vijay Chowk on Friday. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party will hold a meeting with other opposition leaders in the morning and would stage a protest march from the Parliament House to Vijay Chowk. The opposition parties have also sought time from President Droupadi Murmu on Friday afternoon to raise the matter with her. Ramesh said the meeting at Kharge's residence lasted around two hours and it was decided that

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday that they will appeal in higher courts against the conviction of Rahil Gandhi

Mehul Choksi, accused of committing a Rs 11,356.84 crore loan fraud case with the Punjab National Bank (PNB), was delisted by the Interpol from its 'red' notice list

"Bharat Jodo Yatra ended 46 days ago and now they're asking about whom he (Rahul Gandhi) met there. Thousands of people met him and shared their problems," he added