CPI leader and former JNSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat independent MLA Jignesh Mevani on Tuesday joined the Congress in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.
Kanhaiya Kumar is a former president of Jawaharlal Nehru University while Jignesh Mevani is a Dalit leader from Gujarat.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel were present with Rahul Gandhi when Kumar and Mevani joined the Congress.
Venugopal said that 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,” Kumar said.
People close to Mevani claimed that for over a year he was weighing various options, including joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of which he was earlier a spokesperson and also exploring some national front of like-minded youth leaders.