The Leaderboard: Mallikarjun Kharge

The Leaderboard profiles the people behind the policies of the Asia-Pacific.

Who is he?

Mallikarjun Kharge was recently chosen to be the leader of the India’s Congress party in the Lok Sabha. He represents a constituency in Karnataka as a member of parliament. He previously headed the Railways and Labour and Employment ministries during the Manmohan Singh government. He also formerly served as leader of the opposition in the Karnataka legislative assembly.

Mallikarjun Kharge. Source: Wikimedia, image in the public domain.

Mallikarjun Kharge. Source: Wikimedia, image in the public domain.

Why has he been in the news?

The Congress party holds only 44 seats in the lower house of India’s parliament. This is below the mandated number of 55 Lok Sabha seats to formally stake a claim as the “Leader of the Opposition.” Kharge’s party’s decision to make him their leader in the Lok Sabha came as a surprise, with senior leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Kamal Nath declining to take the post.

What can we expect from him?

The Congress party’s presence in the Lok Sabha has shrunk and in order to provide substantial opposition to the government, it will have to build an alliance with various regional parties if it hopes to slow legislation. Kharge, known for his aversion to market-oriented reforms, is popular among trade unions and he finds himself in a good position to make common cause with left-leaning parties in India. Kharge could rally opposition to government initiatives that favor fiscal consolidation over populist schemes.

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