Cong high command has to decide on RS seat, says Kharge

Bengaluru: Amid speculation that he will be considered for Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said it will depend on what the Congress high command decides and he was a disciplined soldier of the party.

“..is it in my hands? It is in Congress party high command’s hand. It will depend on what high command decides,” Kharge said in response to a question.

Speaking to reporters here, he said “I have never asked for anything. I have been working as a disciplined soldier of the party.”

Four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka represented by Rajeev Gowda and B K Hariprasad of the Congress, Prabhakar Kore of the BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of the JD(S) will fall vacant in June.

Kharge, who was popularly known as “solillada Saradara,” (a leader without defeat), faced his first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades, against BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by 95,452 votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

A nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member, Kharge had served as Congress’ floor leader in the previous Lok Sabha.

Also, there are reports about JD(S) looking at sending its patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda to the Uppper House.

The regional party will need Congress support for this.

Gowda was defeated in Tumkur constituency by hisBJPrival G S Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes.

As the joint candidate of the then ruling Congress-JDS coalition, Gowda had chosen to contest from Tumkur at the last minute, after vacating Hassan-his home turf, to grandson Prajwal Revanna (a current MP).