Mallikarjun Kharge may not contest this time, party circles in unease

New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge set alarm bells ringing in the party by dropping a hint of not running for Lok Sabha polls this time.

The senior leader from Karnataka would rather dedicate himself to the party’s ‘big picture’ at national level than involve in his personal campaign, NDTV reported.

However, it is reported that sentiments run deep in the party encouraging him to lead from the front in the battle field.

During discussion on candidates last week, Kharge was the unique choice for the Gulbarga constituency among those on the list for Karnataka.

But Kharge, who does not want to be ‘confined to one constituency but concentrate across the country’, is likely to suggest his son-in-law Radhakrishnan Doddamani for the role, NDTV reported citing sources.

Kharge , who is the Leader of the Opposition, represented the Gulbarga constituency twice but lost in 2019 and is currently a member of Raja Sabha where he can continue four more years.

His son Priyank Kharge is a minister with the current Congress administration in Karnataka.

Party chiefs in Congress never refrain from running for Lok Sabha polls going by examples including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi; however, Gandhi lost party bastion to Smriti Irani in 2019.

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