Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani to join Congress on September 28

On the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, former Jawahar Lal Nehru University Student Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani will join the Congress on September 28. 

Earlier, they were expected to join the grand-old party on October 2, on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Hailing from Bihar, Kumar had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from the Begusarai seat on a Communist Party of India ticket against Bharatiya Janata Party heavyweight Giriraj Singh. He lost the election by a staggering margin of over 4 lakh votes. 

Kumar, who had led and participated in several protests against the Union government’s policies, was sidelined in his own party after the Bihar assembly elections that concluded last year. 

Earlier this year, the Left party had passed a censure motion against Kumar over his alleged unruly behaviour at the CPI's Patna office.

As per the report, he would be made the Congress president in his home state to revamp the party which has been on the support system of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The party has not formed its government since the exit of Jagannath Mishra in the 1990s. 

Kumar had met senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi several times. It is said during the last meeting, election strategist Prashant Kishore was also present. Incidentally, Kishore and Kumar belong to the same state and same caste. 

Jignesh Mevani, who also emerged from leading several Dalit movements in his home state during his student days, has won the Gujarat assembly election from the Vadgam constituency in 2017.

With the next assembly elections in Gujarat is slated to be held in 2022, the Congress is trying to improve its prospects in the state in which it has been out of power for the last two decades.

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