Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar was appointed the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of the Congress on July 6.
Seen by the party as a face that will connect with the youth of the country, Mr. Kumar joined the Congress in 2021 from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and actively participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi and had walked the entire distance from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
A statement issued by Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal read “Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed Kanhaiya Kumar as AICC in-charge of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) with immediate effect.”
According to sources in the party, the 36-year-old Mr. Kumar is seen as a leader who could appeal to younger voters and build on the party’s appeal among first-time voters with his oratory skills and sharp attacks on the Central government. His appointment puts to rest rumours doing the rounds that the Congress was looking for a larger role for Mr. Kumar that included a Pradesh Congress Committee post.
NSUI president Neeraj Kunadan commenting on the appointment said “We look forward to Mr. Kumar’s leadership and dedication in furthering the cause of students across the nation.”
Born and brought up in Bihar’s Begusarai district, Mr. Kumar won the JNUSU election in 2015 as the All India Students Federation candidate and came into the limelight after he was arrested by the Delhi Police in February 2016 on charges of sedition along with Umar Khalid and was branded by the right-wing as a member of the ‘tukde-tukde’ gang and ‘anti-national’.
His arrest drew sharp reaction from various sections and a speech he gave at the JNU upon his release in which he explained the often used slogan of ‘azadi’ during protests by the left-wing student groups as one seeking, “not freedom from India, but freedom within India” caught the imagination of many students, politicians and activists.
After finishing his Ph.D from the JNU, he contested the Lok Sabha Election in 2019 from Begusarai on a CPI ticket and lost to Giriraj Singh of the BJP. The post of the AICC in-charge of the NSUI has been lying vacant since Ruchi Gupta quit in December 2020.
