Priyank M. Kharge

Priyank M. Kharge is an Indian Politician and a member of the Indian National Congress from the state of Karnataka. Kharge is a first-term member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.In June 2016 Kharge was inducted into the Siddaramaiah led government of Karnataka as a state minister with Independent Charge.Kharge holds the Information Technology and Bio-Technology, Science and Technology Department portfolio in the Government of Karnataka.At age 38 Kharge is the youngest minister to be sworn into the Karnataka Cabinet.

Kharge is from the Indian National Congress, Kharge represents Chitapur Assembly Constituency of Gulbarga district, Karnataka.Kharge was inducted as a state minister largely because of his father Mallikarjun Kharge is a senior Indian National Congress Politician, Member of Parliament and the leader of the congress party in the Lok Sabha.Priyank Kharge entered politics as a Student activist of the National Students' Union of India and was elected the vice-president of the Karnataka unit of the Youth Congress for one term. He unsuccessfully contested for the post of presidentship of the Karnataka Youth Congress against Rizwan Arshad in 2014.Priyank M. Kharge fought the 2008 Karnataka Assembly Elections from the Chittapur Assembly Constituency and chose not to fight from his father's Mallikarjun Kharge safe seat of Gurmitkal which he held for over forty years.Priyank M. Kharge lost the 2008 to Valmiki Nayak of the Bharatiya Janata Party by only 1600 votes.In the following 2013 Assembly Election he won the seat by over 30000 votes beating Valmiki Nayak of the Bharatiya Janata Party.Kharge has a diploma in computer science.

Besides holding the Information Technology and Bio-Technology, Science and Technology Department portfolio Tourism is also the Tourism Department with Independent Charge.As the Tourism minister Kharge announced a science circuit, Bengaluru Tourism Advisory Committee, Hyderabad-Karnataka Tourism Advisory Committee,the coastal circuit and the Cauvery circuit to boost Tourism in the state.As the Information Technology Minister Kharge has introduced a Startup Booster Kit which has facilities like access to mentors, cloud credits and incubators.