New Delhi: Former JNU student leader Kanhiaya Kumar and independent Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani will reportedly join Congress said NDTV sources.
They are expected to join Congress during the October 2 event– Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The date has been pushed forward, earlier they were expected to join on September 28.
Mr Mevani will be made a Working President of the party’s state unit, while Mr Kumar – currently with the CPM – is expected to bring a few other Left leaders with him.
Congress had earlier denied the speculation about JNU student leader joining the party. Senior spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said, “Many people meet Rahul Gandhi and discuss issues. I don’t want to comment on this issue. If there’s anything we will surely announce it.”
The Indian Express sources had said that Gujarat MLA Jinesh Mevani too was in touch with the Congress leadership. The Congress had helped Mevani in the last Assembly elections by not fielding a candidate from the Vadgam seat in Banaskantha district of northern Gujarat.
Kanhaiya according to the Indian Express sources was feeling suffocated in the CPI. Mevani has also lauded Congress for appointing Charanjit Singh Channi as the first Dalit-Sikh chief minister of Punjab.
Mevani’s likely induction into the Congress, as claimed in the report, will come around a year before Gujarat moves into the next assembly elections. The state witnessed a government rejig last week, with the ruling BJP replacing Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel.
Kumar, on the other hand, is likely to play a role in strengthening the Congress in Bihar if he is inducted into the party. Sources in the Congress told The Indian Express that Kumar is keen to play an active role in the state politics.The Congress, which has not been in power in Bihar since 1990, has witnessed its electoral share rapidly decline in the state. In the last assembly polls, the party ended up winning only 19 legislative seats, down from its previous tally of 27.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
