Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge (born 21 July 1942) is an Indian politician and the leader of the Indian National Congress party in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was the former Minister of Railways in the Government of India. Kharge is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) and has been a Member of Parliament for Gulbarga, Karnataka since 2009. He is a senior Karnataka politician and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly prior to contesting the 2014 General Elections. Prior to that he was the President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee during the 2008 Karnataka State Assembly Elections.