Kanhaiya Kumar, student leader and Jignesh Mevani, Gujarat Dalit leader are all set to join Congress on Tuesday. Posters welcoming Kanhaiya Kumar to the party were seen some hours ahead of his reported move, outside the party office in Delhi.
Kanhaiya Kumar had joined the Communist Party of India ahead of the 2019 general elections and had contested from Begusarai in Bihar, his hometown, against BJP's Giriraj Singh.
Kanhaiya had been a former president of JNU student's union and was jailed over his 'anti-national' remarks, raised at an event in 2016 on the death anniversary of Afzal Guru, the parliament attack mastermind.
On the other hand, Jignesh Mevani, who represents the Vadgam constituency in Gujarat, is also seen as key to the Congress, ahead of next year's elections in the state.
Mr. Mevani, a former journalist and lawyer, will join Congress when the party is extending its support base of scheduled castes communities. The party also chose a Dalit chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi in Punjab, replacing Capt. Amarinder Singh.
Kanhaiya Kumar has reportedly met with Rahul Gandhi twice. He has also met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
