Mallikarjun Kharge, the current president of the Indian National Congress, is a man who embodies the journey from humble beginnings to the highest echelons of Indian politics. His life and career offer a fascinating study in resilience, perseverance, and a unwavering commitment to social justice. Born in 1942 in Bidar, Karnataka, Kharge's early life was steeped in hardship. He belonged to the Scheduled Caste, facing the harsh realities of discrimination and poverty. Despite these challenges, he pursued his education, working alongside his studies in a mill to support his family. This firsthand experience of exploitation ignited his passion for social reform and his identification with the marginalized sections of society. Kharge's political journey began in the trade union movement. He rose through the ranks of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), fighting for the rights of workers and championing their cause. His dedication and organizational skills caught the attention of the Congress party, and he was soon drawn into the world of electoral politics. Kharge, who was the Congress'popular face in the state, could not become the CM– in 1999, 2004 and 2013. Despite being a staunch loyalist of the Gandhi family, Kharge lost out, respectively, to S M Krishna, his close friend Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah. But the former student leader, ex-president of the Gulbarga City Congress and nine-time MLA, never lost hope, never rebelling. One of the most prominent Dalit faces of the Congress, belonging to a state where the party continues to have some hold, he had to be content with the occasional reward like leader of the party in the Lok Sabha and now Rajya Sabha. Kharge became the sixth leader from the South to become the Congress president post- Independence. The others being B Pattabhi Sitaramayya, N Sanjiva Reddy, K Kamaraj, S Nijalingappa and P V Narasimha Rao. More importantly, he will be the first person outside the Gandhi family to helm the party in two-and-a-half decades. Kharge brings to the post a long stint in state politics from the time he was appointed president of the city Congress of his hometown Gulbarga in 1969. He entered electoral politics in 1972 when he contested in the Assembly elections for the first time. He won and repeated the feat eight times. He became a minister for the first time in 1976 in the Devaraj Urs government. The only time Kharge showed a rebel streak was in the late 1970s when Urs left the party and floated the Congress (U) after a showdown with Indira Gandhi. Kharge went with Urs but returned to the Congress after the 1980 Lok Sabha elections following the rout of the Urs Congress in Karnataka. His party could not win a single seat.