Veteran Mallikarjun Kharge is seen as a strong possibility to take over the reins of Congress from Rahul. A Dalit and party loyalist, Kharge was the Congress leader in last Lok Sabha though he lost his poll from his stronghold of Gulbarga in Karnataka in 2019. Another Dalit leader Sushil Kumar Shinde is also a close claimant, sources said.

from Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/after-pv-narasimha-rao-sitaram-kesari-will-it-be-mallikarjun-kharge-or-sushil-kumar-shinde/articleshow/70065291.cms