The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Kanhaiya as its pick, Cong eyes key votes; BJP up for challenge
WHATEVER the outcome in the Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat from which Kanhaiya Kumar has been fielded by the Congress, the 37-year-old is set to play a bigger role in the Capital for the party, which has been on a downward spiral.
BJP leaders contest the entry of the firebrand student activistturned-politician, from a seat that saw one of Delhi’s worst riots four years ago, will only help polarise the polls to its benefit. Party leaders said they are raring to unfold a ‘Communist (given Kanhaiya’s Leftist and JNU background) vs Sanatan Dharma’ narrative.
However, the Congress, as per its leaders, is playing the long game here. Its newfound ally AAP also senses that. AAP sources told The Indian Express that the party itself “seriously considered” inducting Kanhaiya at one point, and that the Congress could claw back some ground if it uses Kanhaiya well.
As an educated, impressive ora tor fluent in Hindi, aP ur van ch ali face, a national name, and an activist who found his political feet in delhi, kan hai ya checks the right boxes for both parties. A senior Delhi Congress leader said: “The Congress high command, especially Rahul (Gandhi) ji, envisions Kanhaiya as among promising Congressmen who can be handed over the baton not only in terms of the party’s ideology but its organisation as well.”
A veteran Congress leader said: “... the party will cultivate him for bigger responsibilities, especially organisational, as it utilises his leadership potential...”
It will be Kanhaiya’s second bid to get elected to the lo ks ab ha, having got a thrashing in the 2019 polls int hebe gus a raise at in bi h ar, his native state, on a CPI ticket. Since he moved to the Congress, his profile has risen — if slowly. Currently, he is the head of the Congress student body, National Students’ Union of India, and by virtue of it, a member of the Congress Working Committee.
The Congress gave the Northeast Delhi ticket to him — one of only three seats it is contesting in the Capital, in partnership with the AAP — over leaders such as its PCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and Sandeep Dikshit, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s son, who were reportedly screened for the seat.
Kanhaiya will take on fellow Purvanchali and two-time Northeast Delhi MP, BJP’S Manoj Tiwari. Tiwari was quick off the mark after Kanhaiya was named, dubbing him “a political tourist”. “Is there no one in the Congress who respects the country, the Army, the culture of the country who they could have made their candidate? The Congress and INDIA and their leaderships have been exposed,” he said.
AAP leaders are also watching the more active role for Kanhaiya closely. A party leader said in 2019-20, AAP too had considered bringing in Kanhaiya, but no decision could be reached. He joined the Congress in 2021. “His becoming active in Delhi’ s political mainstream raises some questions for aap. this may not be true for the lo ks ab ha polls, but will be for Assembly polls of 2025, which both parties for now plan to contest separately,” a leader said.
Not all within the Congress are on board with the ticket to Kanhaiya though, and many apprehend that not only will he lose, he will cement the impression of the party as one with quasi-communist leanings that supports “anti-nationals”.
But, as another leader said, all this debate misses the point. “If the high command, and especially Rahul ji, is investing in Kanhaiya, who joined the party less than five years ago, it clearly means that the entire organisational structure is set to undergo an overhaul in Delhi,” the leader said.