Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Kanhaiya Kumar and independent Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani are set to join the Congress on October 2, a report said on September 20.
Mevani, who represents the Vadgam constituency in Gujarat, will be appointed as the Congress’ state working president following his induction into the party, the NDTV report claimed.
Kumar, an activist-politician who shot to fame with his stint as the president of JNU Students’ Union in 2016, had sparked speculations of his political switch following his meeting with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on September 16.
Mevani, a noted leader of the Dalit community in Gujarat, has reportedly been in touch with the Congress leadership. He also praised the party, as well as Rahul Gandhi, on September 20 after the appointment of 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.
