Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is all set to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, as incumbent Ghulam Nabi Azad’s term ends on February 15.
A letter from Congress President Sonia Gandhi was sent to Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu’s office to inform the Upper House of Mr. Azad’s replacement.
Former Law Minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid was among the first leaders to congratulate Mr. Kharge. “Best wishes to Sh @kharge ji for being appointed as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha,” he tweeted.
Mr. Kharge, known to be a Gandhi family loyalist, had been the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019. After losing the 2019 poll, he was brought into the Rajya Sabha last June.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, who along with Mr. Azad came to be identified with the group of 23 dissenters who had sought a revamp of the party in a letter to Ms. Gandhi last August, is the Deputy Leader of the party in the Upper House.
