CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mewani on Tuesday joined Congress in the presence of Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.
Kanhaiya Kumar had earlier said that he and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani will join the Congress in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi at the party's headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday evening. Kumar is a former president of JNU and Mevani belongs to the Dalit community.
The joining took place after some prominent Congress leaders left the party in recent months.
The resignation of youth leaders had caused some disquiet in the party and sections of the party feel that the induction of Kumar and Mevani will help send a positive message to the party rank and file.
Kumar is a member of the CPI national executive, a top decision-making body of the party. Mevani is an independent MLA from the Vadgam constituency in Gujarat and convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM). In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly election, the Congress party did not field its candidate against Mevani in the Vadgam constituency.