CPI leader and former JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar has met Rahul Gandhi. This to prepare the ground for his entry into the Congress, which has suffered desertion by many young leaders in the past two years.Sources said Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani too is in touch with the Congress leadership. The Congress had helped Mevani in the last Assembly elections . This
This was by not fielding a candidate from the Vadgam seat in Banaskantha district of northern Gujarat.
Kumar, sources close to him said, was feeling suffocated in the CPI.
He met Gandhi on Tuesday and the two are learnt to have discussed his entry into the Congress. When asked about Kumar’s possible exit, CPI general secretary D Raja said he has only heard speculation in this regard. “I can only say that he was present at the national executive meeting of our party earlier this month. He spoke and participated in the deliberations,” Raja said.
While Kumar did not respond to calls . Sources in the Congress said he is keen to play a key role in Bihar politics. The Congress had been in political wilderness in Bihar for the past three decades. Even in last year’s Assembly elections, it performed badly when compared to allies RJD and CPI(ML). The Congress could win only 19 of the 70 seats it contested. RJD won more than half of the 144 seats it contested.
CPI(ML) won 12 of the 19 seats where it fielded candidates. Sources in the Congress said the party believes that the entry of Kumar and Mevani will give it a boost. At least optics wise, since one of the narratives regarding the party in the past two years has been of young leaders – among them Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sushmita Dev, Jitin Prasada and Priyanka Chaturvedi – leaving the party .
If Kumar, who is known for his oratory skills, joins the Congress, the party could also use him for campaigning in Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. The SP and BSP made it clear that they will not join hands with the Congress for the fort.
Thus the party will be fighting the elections on its own.
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