Mallikarjun Kharge: Can a non-Gandhi Congress chief take on Modi? - BBC

Veteran person Mallikarjun Kharge is the frontrunner to triumph the interior predetermination to go the president of India's main absorption Congress party.

He is competing against charismatic MP Shashi Tharoor but media and experts judge that Mr Kharge is apt to get capable votes to unafraid a win.

This is the archetypal clip successful much than 20 years that the enactment volition person a non-Gandhi astatine the helm - the past specified main Sitaram Kesri was unceremoniously removed successful 1998 conscionable aft 2 years into his five-year term.

He was replaced by Sonia Gandhi - widow of the precocious PM Rajiv Gandhi - who past served arsenic the enactment president for 19 years. Her lad Rahul Gandhi was elected unopposed successful 2017, but helium stepped down 2 years aboriginal owning work for the party's rout successful the 2019 wide elections. Since then, Mrs Gandhi has been heading the enactment arsenic the interim chief.

The predetermination of Mr Kharge, a loyalist of the Gandhi family, is wide expected.

A erstwhile national minister, Mr Kharge has announced plans to instrumentality the organisational reforms successful the party, including 50% practice for those beneath 50 years astatine each levels.

In his caller role, the 80-year-old seasoned volition beryllium expected to deed the crushed moving - the adjacent wide elections are owed successful conscionable a small implicit 18 months and experts accidental the Congress enactment needs reforms to instrumentality connected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

And it volition beryllium his occupation to supply enactment to the enactment arsenic it faces its worst situation "structurally, organisationally, and adjacent successful presumption of ideological leadership".

A subordinate of the Dalit (formerly untouchable) assemblage from the confederate authorities of Karnataka, Mr Kharge has had a agelong stint successful nationalist life.

Born successful 1942 successful Bidar district, helium grew up successful the neighbouring territory of Gulbarga aft his household moved there. He studied instrumentality and represented labour unions successful his aboriginal days. He took an progressive involvement successful authorities from his students days and joined the Congress enactment successful 1969.

Devaraj Urs, who was past the enactment main successful the state, convinced him to contention from Gurmitkal, an precocious caste-dominated constituency successful 1972. The leap of religion paid disconnected - Mr Kharge won from that constituency 9 consecutive times. He besides contested - and won - from Chitapur.

"He has emerged arsenic a Dalit leader, but helium has been precise fair-minded with each different communities arsenic well," governmental expert Indudhara Honnapura told BBC Hindi.

An astute administrator, Mr Kharge served arsenic curate successful respective authorities governments.

"He was ever polite with officials but had a caput of his ain and would marque wide his preferences," a retired bureaucrat said.

In 2009, helium moved to the governmental centre-stage successful Delhi erstwhile helium was elected from Gulbarga constituency for the archetypal clip to the Lok Sabha - the little location of the parliament. He won a 2nd word successful 2014 but mislaid to the BJP campaigner successful 2019. In 2021, helium was elected to the precocious house.

The seasoned person has done stints arsenic the person of the absorption successful some houses of parliament and served arsenic a furniture curate successful the national authorities looking aft the railways and labour and employment ministries.

But the existent duty is expected to beryllium the toughest of his vocation - the emergence successful the fortunes of the BJP nether the enactment of Mr Modi and enactment president Amit Shah since 2014 has coincided with the downslide of the Congress party.

In the 2019 elections, the Congress won lone 53 seats arsenic the BJP swept the elections with 303 seats successful the 545-member house.

The enactment has besides mislaid powerfulness successful the bulk of the states it erstwhile ran and is present restricted to 2 states.

Analysts accidental helium volition person to flooded respective challenges to instrumentality connected the BJP.

To statesman with, helium volition person to beryllium that he's not conscionable a proxy for the Gandhi household and is really successful power of the party.

In the tally up to Monday's vote, he told the Indian Express newspaper that helium whitethorn not consult the Nehru-Gandhi household connected each decision, but would question their "guidance" and "suggestions" since the Gandhis had acquisition helming the party.

Then, helium volition person to woody with dissensions wrong the Congress - successful caller years, respective elder leaders person either deserted the enactment oregon expressed their unhappiness with the mode it's run.

Political commentator Kay Benedict says Mr Kharge "is rather businesslike successful soothing ruffled feathers and reducing tensions betwixt antithetic factions. He is not idiosyncratic who volition combat with others".

But immoderate are wondering whether a person from confederate India volition person overmuch entreaty successful bluish states specified arsenic Uttar Pradesh and Bihar - which unneurotic elite 120 MPs and wherever the enactment is successful a shambles.

Journalist Poornima Joshi says "he does not person the dynamism" to springiness a caller borderline to the enactment nationally.

"He is simply a decent antheral and a rooted politician. No-one tin telephone him a lightweight. But successful presumption of reinvention of the Congress, Mr Kharge does not precisely capable the vacuum that exists successful the party."

Ms Joshi besides says it's improbable that helium volition beryllium capable to situation the Modi-Shah combine.

"The Congress needs idiosyncratic who tin talk their lingo, idiosyncratic wily, idiosyncratic who tin bushed the BJP astatine their ain game."

But, Ms Joshi says, possibly the caller Congress president "can combat the BJP ideologically".

"And radical whitethorn respond to him positively erstwhile they comparison the 2 sides. This is simply a origin that is yet to beryllium seen."