Student activists from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid, who led the university's protests from the forefront in 2016 have reportedly indicated that they will be contesting in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
While Kumar was elected president of the university's student body, Rashid was elected vice president. Kumar was a representative of Communist Party of India-affiliated All India Students’ Federation (AISF), and Rashid was a member of CPI-ML-affiliated All India Students’ Association.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Kanhaiya Kumar said that one should never rule out him contesting elections. He reportedly added that if the Rashtriya janata Dal (RJD), along with the Congress and the Left formed an alliance in Bihar, the state Kumar hails from, he can be their candidate.