The induction of Jignesh Mevani and Kanhaiya Kumar into the Congress party has cemented the party’s transformation into a Left party from the Center-Left facade it has maintained since Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister in 2014.
Kanhaiya Kumar contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Begusarai in Bihar on a CPI ticket and Jignesh Mevani was elected representative in the Gujarat Assembly as an independent candidate in the 2017 elections. Mevani has said that he has not formally joined the party as he would then have to resign as MLA but assured that he would contest the next elections on a Congress ticket.
Nevertheless, the inclusion of the two in the party clearly indicates where the Congress is headed. The indications were there even in 2019 when the Congress party released its manifesto before the General Elections.
The far-left Congress party manifesto in 2019
In its manifesto, the Congress party promised to “Pass regulations to stop the spread of fake news and hate speech and punish those who misuse digital and social media.” This was well before social media censorship by Big Tech platforms reached its zenith prior to the US presidential elections in 2020.
The manifesto also promised to “Omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (that defines the offence of ‘sedition’) that has been misused and, in any event, has become redundant because of subsequent laws.” This is straight out of the ‘JNU school of thought’, a branch of political philosophy personified by Kanhaiya Kumar, who has been the president of the JNU Students Union in the past.
Thus, quite clearly, according to the Congress party, ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’ is protected by freedom of expression but free speech on social media ought to be curbed. For obvious reasons, the Congress party is the natural home for Jignesh Mevani, Kanhaiya Kumar and their ideological compatriots.
Will Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani help revive the Congress party?
As far as electoral success is concerned, Kanhaiya and Mevani are unlikely to add to the party’s strength and if Rahul Gandhi believes that they will help revive the fortunes of the Congress party, then he is sorely mistaken.
Kumar lost spectacularly to BJP’s Giriraj Singh in Begusarai during the Lok Sabha Elections and Mevani won election to the Gujarat Assembly only from a constituency that has been known to be a Congress stronghold. Outside of Twitter, their political mettle remains to be tested.
And with the political transformation that the country has undergone since 2014, there are not sufficient takers for the JNU brand of politics as is evident from the fate of the Congress in recent times.
Nevertheless, Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani are sure to help the Congress party receive more retweets and ‘likes’ on Twitter, a metric that has become essential for the party. Indeed, the party appeared convinced they will win 2019 based on their Twitter interactions.
And as former president of the party, and possibly the next one, Rahul Gandhi appears far more concerned about his Twitter metrics than the fate of the party in states and constituencies. On that note, the party will surely receive a boost.
The brand of politics Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani will bring into the party
Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani are both extremely controversial characters, and for good reason. Mevani is known to employ crass language against his political opponents, especially the Prime Minister. He had once said that Narendra Modi should ‘go and die’. He has also been accused of inciting people to commit violence.
Kanhaiya Kumar, himself, is an accused in the JNU sedition case involving anti-national slogans at the University. He was also accused of urinating in public and flashing his private part at a woman. It is extremely unlikely that the brand of politics of the newly minted Congress leaders will change all of a sudden. It is far more likely that they will introduce their own political brand into the party.
And thus, the politics of the Congress party is likely to get much dirtier, nastier and more desperate.
The inclusion of the two comes at a time when there is a major crisis unfolding within the Congress party. In Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu has resigned as Punjab Congress Chief days after Amarinder Singh quit as the Chief Minister of the state. If reports are to be believed, Singh is meeting with senior BJP leaders.
Meanwhile, the party is suffering a series of defections. Its leaders in West Bengal and Goa are leaving the party to join the Trinamool Congress and its fortunes appear so hopeless that even Saket Gokhale, eminent Rahul Gandhi fanboy, has left them to join TMC.
Needless to say, Mevani and Kumar are not a solution to the problems that the Congress party faces. And at the end of the day, while the party might rejoice for a day or two, its senior leaders will be well aware that its political future remains in tatters.