Kanhaiya Kumar in Congress? Meeting with Rahul Gandhi triggers speculations

Kanhaiya Kumar is keen to play a key role in Bihar politics, said the report citing sources in Congress. (File image: Twitter/ @KanhaiyaKumar)

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar has met Rahul Gandhi, triggering speculations of his entry into the Congress.

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani is also in touch with the leadership of the grand old party, whose many young leaders have moved to other political parties in the past two years, reported The Indian Express citing its sources.

According to the report quoting sources close to Kumar, he was feeling “suffocated” in the CPI. He met Congress' former president on September 14 and discussed joining the Congress, it said.

Asked about Kumar’s possible exit, CPI general secretary D Raja said he had only heard speculation in this regard.

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“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,” said the report quoting Raja.

Kumar was not available to respond, but sources in Congress told the publication that he was keen to play a key role in Bihar politics.

Congress is a fringe player in Bihar and has been fighting to stay relevant. Even in the 2020 state assembly polls, the party could not perform well. It contested 70 of the state’s 243 assembly seats and was able to win just 19 of these.

With the entry of Kumar and Mevani, Congress may be able to breathe life into its organisation in Bihar, said party sources.

However, some of the party leaders believe that Kumar could be a baggage for the party due to his controversial past, the report added.

Kumar is accused of raising anti-India slogans at the JNU campus in 2016. He was among those who were arrested by the Delhi police and charged with sedition.