Ahead of Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani’s entry into Congress, posters put up outside party office
Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani are expected to join the party at 4 pm today during the garlanding function organised Indian Youth Congress at Bhagat Singh Park, ITO.
Posters welcoming former JNU student leader and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Kanhaiya Kumar have been put up outside the Congress office in Delhi ahead of his proposed joining, reported news agency ANI.
Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani are expected to join the party at 4 pm today during the garlanding function organised Indian Youth Congress at Bhagat Singh Park, ITO.
Rahul Gandhi is likely to be present with them at ITO along with a large number of Congress workers, the news agency reported.
Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Mevani told a section of the media that he and Kumar will join the Congress on September 28. “On September 28, I will be joining the Indian National Congress along with Kanhaiya Kumar,” Mevani was quoted as saying.
According to reports, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel are also likely to be present when Kumar and Mevani join the Congress.
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ANI also reported that Kumar might likely get a role in the Bihar unit of the Congress party and Mevani in Gujarat, which will go to polls -- assembly elections at the end of next year. The reported also cited people in the know of the matter saying that Kumar and Mevani could be part of a campaign to connect with the youth against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government.
Already facing an existential crisis in Bihar, Congress sees Kumar’s entry as a booster for the NDA-ruled state as the Grand Old Party seeks to revive its chances in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls. Also, Kumar’s entry will come amid the suffering desertion by many young leaders in the past two years, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sushmita Dev, Jitin Prasada and Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev has joined the Trinamool Congres, and Jitin Prasada is now in the BJP. On Monday, veteran Goa Congress leader Luizinho Faleiro bid goodbye to the party. Recently, several senior Congress leaders have left the Grand Old party.