Kanhaiya Kumar meets Rahul Gandhi, likely to join Congress; Jignesh Mevani in touch too

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. While the RJD won more than half of the 144 seats it contested, the 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.

It is another matter that at least some of the leaders in the Congress believe that Kumar could be a baggage for the party given his controversial past. Even in the CPI, he had faced a censure – a mild disciplinary action – earlier this year for a ruckus at the party’s Patna office in December last year.

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. With the SP and BSP making it clear that they will not join hands with the Congress for the forthcoming Assembly elections, the party will be fighting the elections on its own.