All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections, in Bengaluru on Friday. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, ex-Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, and KPCC president B.K. Hariprasad are also present.
| Photo Credit: special arrangement
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All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge has filed his nomination papers for elections to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in the presence of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
Mr. Kharge is seeking re-election to the Rajya Sabha. June 8 is the last day for filing nomination papers. Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Union Minister K. Rahman Khan, and the party’s media and publicity wing head, Pawan Khera, are the other two candidates of the party. Elections would be held on June 18.
Elections would be held for four seats from the electoral college comprising MLAs, and the Congress has sufficient numbers in the Assembly to secure three seats.
Mr. Kharge, along with Mr. Gandhi, arrived at the Vidhana Soudha and submitted their nomination papers to the Legislative Assembly Secretary M.K. Vishalakshi.
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president B.K. Hariprasad accompanied Mr. Kharge and two party candidates.
Cabinet portfolio discussion during car ride
Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Hariprasad travelled in the same car as Mr. Gandhi and reportedly held discussions related to disgruntlement among Ministers over allocation of portfolios.
Eight-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy resigned from the Cabinet following allocation of the Water Resources portfolio and claimed Mr. Shivakumar promised him the Bengaluru Development portfolio, but it was eventually allocated to Krishna Byre Gowda.
K.H. Muniyappa too was not happy about being allotted the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs portfolio.
Kharge’s assets double in six years
The assets of Mr. Kharge has nearly doubled in six years. While the veteran leader had declared a total assets of ₹20.12 crore during the 2020 Rajya Sabha elections, the assets have appreciated by 92% to ₹38.65 crore as per the affidavit he filed on Friday.
His total assets include ₹9.58 crore coming from Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).
The affidavit filed, along with his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha, shows that the assets in Mr. Kharge’s name total ₹14.81 crore, of which movable assets are ₹6.51 crore and immovable assets ₹8.3 crore. His spouse Radha Bai Kharge has total assets of ₹14.26 crore, including ₹4.41 crore in movable assets and ₹9.85 crore in immovable assets.
Published – June 05, 2026 03:17 pm IST
