Bengaluru: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka at Vidhana Soudha on Friday, accompanied by Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. Chief minister DK Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, and several ministers were present when Kharge submitted his papers to assembly secretary MK Vishalakshi. Kharge’s current tenure in the Upper House of Parliament, where he serves as opposition leader, ends on June 25.
Besides Kharge, the Congress has fielded two other candidates for the June 18 election from Karnataka: Pawan Khera, party media and publicity department chairman, and Mansoor Ali Khan, AICC secretary, educationist, and son of Congress veteran and former Union minister K Rahman Khan. Kharge expressed confidence in the party's unity, stating, “All MLAs and my leaders have unanimously chosen me, and I am confident that everyone will remain united and ensure victory for Congress candidates.”
Polls will be held for four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka. Given its numerical strength in the assembly, the Congress is expected to win three seats, while the BJP-JD(S) alliance is likely to secure the fourth. Kharge’s nomination marks another chapter in a political career spanning over five decades. He won nine consecutive assembly elections from Gurmitkal between 1972 and 2008 before transitioning to national politics. He later won the Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 and 2014, suffering his only major electoral defeat in the 2019 elections. In 2020, Kharge entered the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka unopposed and subsequently rose to become Congress president while continuing to lead the party in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the BJP has yet to announce its nominee from Karnataka. Political attention remains focused on former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda, whose Rajya Sabha term has ended. Although the BJP is widely expected to back Gowda for another term, the delay in announcing its candidate has sparked speculation over whether the party might instead field one of its own members. Names circulating include former MP Sumalatha Ambareesh and former chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, though party leaders have not ruled out a surprise choice. In total, polling will be held for 24 seats across 10 states, with nominations closing on Monday.
