Bengaluru: The report of the Fact-finding Committee instituted by the Congress to dig out the reasons behind the party’s debacle in the recently held Lok Sabha elections has pointed out that Mallikarjun Kharge lost mainly due to his son Priyank Kharge.

The six-member committee, headed by senior leader V R Sudarshan, looked into the reasons behind the party’s defeat in the 2018 Assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha polls stating that as far as Kharge is concerned, it is the ‘high-handedness’ of his son Priyank as well as former minister Sharanaprakash Patil that led to the veteran leader’s defeat.

The Committee has said that while KH Muniyappa lost in Kolar due to personal differences with Congress leaders KR Ramesh Kumar and Varthur Prakash, in Tumakuru, JDS Supremo HD Devegowda lost due to the ‘family politics and consolidation of Vokkaliga votes against him. The committee’s 63-page report was formally submitted to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao.

The report also sheds light on the impact of declaring Lingayat as a separate religion had on the votes.