Kanhaiya Kumar, who gained national attention after the JNU Azadi chants episode, had joined the Indian National Congress(INC) in 2021. Prior to that, the youth leader was a part of the Communist Party of India(CPI). He is now a candidate from the INC in North East Delhi in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. His interview clips in the campaign have been going viral with people praising his talking points and ability.
In one such interview with The Lallantop’s Saurabh Dwivedi he was asked about the reason he left CPI a few years ago. In response, he said, “One thing I have realised after joining mainstream politics is that you cannot play a cricket match with badminton rackets. To defeat or compete with a party as strong and as influential as the BJP, I had to join the biggest opposition party led by the most vocal opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.”
He further added, “In this election, the Left and INC are both part of the INDI Alliance but that is not always the case. Therefore, I felt I should join the strongest opposition party .”
Responding to that Saurabh Dwivedi asked him about the CPI leaders who said he left because he wanted to be the Bihar State Unit President and could not become along with other allegations of misbehaviour. Kanhaiya Kumar responded by saying, “When you leave a party, there are statements made against you. But you can check my statements, I have never said anything against them. Whatever they have said, I have never gone to check.”
Kanhaiya Kumar has given a clarification and dismissed all statements about there being bad blood between him and senior officials of CPI.
These comments by Kanhaiya Kumar have come a few days before his constituency goes for voting in Phase 6 of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. His primary opponent is Manoj Tiwari, the incumbent MP from Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). The voting for Phase 6 will happen on May 25, 2024. The results for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections will be declared on June 4, 2024.
-Namit Pandey