Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge re-elected leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha & more related news here

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and seven other newly elected Rajya Sabha members took oath on Monday (June 29, 2026). Mr. Kharge was also re-elected Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha with effect from June 26.

After taking oath, Kharge expressed gratitude to Congress leaders, including Parliamentary Party president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, as well as Vice President CP Radhakrishnan and Vice President Harivansh. He also extended his greetings to his colleagues in the INDIA bloc and the opposition in general.

Kharge said he hoped for “even stronger coordination” during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to make “the government of the day more accountable.”

“We will continue to raise the concerns, aspirations and burning voices of the people with sincerity, conviction and determination. That remains our primary responsibility, and I will fulfill it with utmost commitment,” Mr. Kharge said.

He took oath separately in the chamber of President Mr. Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan congratulated Kharge and said the Upper House would benefit from his long experience. Mrs Gandhi and other Congress leaders – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh and Syed Naseer Hussain – were present during Mr Kharge’s oath-taking. Mr. Kharge’s wife, daughter and granddaughter, along with his spouse, were also present.

Later, Radhakrishnan administered oath to seven other newly elected members of the Rajya Sabha chamber: Mansingh Meraman Parmar, Tarun Chugh, Alka Singh, Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya, Rajendra Hiralal Jain, M. Nagaraja and Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi.

Four members took oath in Hindi, one in Kannada, one in Punjabi and one in Manipuri. While two members are from Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Rajasthan sent one member each to the Upper House.