Mallikarjun Kharge will be Congress leader in Lok Sabha

The decision eliminates Kamal Nath, the senior-most member of the Lok Sabha, who has been elected for a ninth term in the House, and M Veerappa Moily, another former Chief Minister from Karnataka from the leadership race now.

The nomination of a Gandhi-Nehru family loyalist brings to an end the intense speculation going on for over a fortnight about who will hold this crucial position at a time when the party is smarting under it worst-ever defeat.

Kharge, a low-profile leader, was  Railway Minister in UPA II and represents the has been elected from Gulbarga for a second time in the recent elections. He was elected to the Karnataka Assembly 9 times  and had functioned as the Leader of the Opposition there.

Besides his seniority, the fact that Karnataka has sent the largest contingent of nine MPs for Congress in this Lok Sabha polls, also seems to have gone in his favour.

There were different views in the party on who should lead the pack of 44 MPs in the Lok Sabha. While a number of leaders were of the firm opinion that either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul should take up the responsibility, there was also a section which was propping up the name of senior-most party MP Kamal Nath.