Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani Join Congress, Meet Rahul Gandhi In Delhi
NDTV
Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani's entry into the Congress comes months ahead of polls in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and Punjab.
Former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani today joined the Congress. They were inducted at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Mr Kumar was earlier with the Communist Party of India (CPI) which he joined ahead of the 2019 general election. He then contested from his hometown Begusarai in Bihar against the BJP's Giriraj Singh of the BJP but failed to win.
"Begusarai rejected Kanhiya Kumar's ideology earlier. Now he's changing his ideology and party for political ambition but public doesn't vote for anyone's political ambition. He's going to a party that has been rejected by Bihar and is a sinking boat now," Bihar Minister Mangal Pandey told ANI, reacting to Mr Kanhaiya's latest move.
Posters welcoming him to the party were put up outside the Congress office hours ahead of his switch. He reportedly met Mr Gandhi twice recently over two weeks. He also met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
