Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, discussed his disappointment at not being elected chief minister of Karnataka in 1999, claiming that a new party member was selected in his place. Speaking at a vote rally in Vijayapura, Karnataka, Mallikarjun Kharge stated that he ran as the state’s Leader of the Opposition but claimed that SM Krishna was chosen to be the chief minister.
“I ran as the Leader of the Opposition in the 1999 assembly elections. Kharge was quoted by news agency ANI as saying at the occasion, “SM Krishna, who joined the party four months earlier, was made the chief minister.” “SM Krishna became the chief minister despite my attempts to lead the party to power. “The services I provided were a waste,” he continued.
From 1999 to 2004, SM Krishna presided over Karnataka as its chief minister. According to the Assembly polls, the Congress won 132 out of 224 seats. With 44 seats, the BJP, led by BS Yeddyurappa, was followed by the Janata Dal (Secular) with 10 and the Janata Dal (United) with 18. Prior to running for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and being named the minister of labour and employment, Kharge was a member of the Cabinets of SM Krishna and the successive Congress chief ministers.
In addition, he was the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and Railways. At the age of 78, Kharge was elected to the Karnataka Rajya Sabha in 2020. He was named the Rajya Sabha’s Leader of the Opposition in 2021. After defeating Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in 2022, he was elected president of the Congress party. He succeeded Sonia Gandhi, the party’s longest-serving president, and became the first non-Gandhi leader of the party in 24 years.