He has served as a leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and later leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha. With the Congress now remaining in power in only two states — Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — on its own and as a junior partner in Jharkhand, Kharge’s first challenge is to bring the party to power in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, which go to polls in the next few weeks.