Kanhaiya Kumar joins Congress, Jignesh Mevani says with party ideology

Sep 28, 2021 05:16 PM IST

Share Via

Copy Link

Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani went to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park at New Delhi's ITO with Rahul Gandhi to garland the statue of the freedom fighter a day after his 114th birth anniversary.

CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress on Tuesday in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

Jignesh Mevani was reportedly in constant touch with Kanhaiya Kumar and Patidar leader Hardik Patel over the past few months. (File photo) — Jignesh Mevani was reportedly in constant touch with Kanhaiya Kumar and Patidar leader Hardik Patel over the past few months. (File photo)

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel were present with Rahul Gandhi when Kumar, the former president of Jawaharlal Nehru University, joined the Congress.

Addressing the media at Congress headquarters soon after the induction of the youth leader, Venugopal said, “Kanhaiya Kumar is a symbol of the fight for freedom of expression in this country. He fought against fundamentalism as a student leader. The joining of kind of dynamic personality will fill the entire cadre of Congress with enthusiasm.”

Meanwhile, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, who was also supposed to join the Congress, but couldn't “due to technical reasons”, extended his support to the party.

"I could not join the Congress formally due to technical reasons. I am an independent MLA, if I join a party, I may not continue as an MLA...I am part of the Congress ideologically but I will fight the upcoming Gujarat polls from Congress symbol," the Dalit leader from Gujarat said.

People close to Mevani claimed that for over a year he was weighing various options, including joining the Aam Aadmi Party of which he was earlier a spokesperson and also exploring some national front of like-minded youth leaders.