The counting for all four central panel seats of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) was underway on Sunday with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) trailing in all top three seats of President, Vice-President and General Secretary while ABVP’s candidate for Joint Secretary Vaibhav Meena leads after the counting for 5,125 votes out of total 5,500 was completed, as of 10 pm, said JNU Election Commission.
The polling was conducted on April 25, and a voter turnout of approximately 70 per cent was recorded in the elections. Out of 7,906 eligible students, around 5,500 cast their votes, according to the JNU EC.
As of 10 pm on Sunday, AISA-DSF coalition candidate Nitish Kumar was leading with 1,675 votes for the post of President, followed by ABVP’s Shikha Swaraj with 1,399 votes. For the post of Vice-President, AISA-DSF’s Nittu Gautam was ahead with 1,184 votes, Munteha Fatima was leading for General Secretary with 1,440 votes, while Vaibhav Meena was in front for Joint Secretary with 1,525 votes, as per the Election Commission.
Before announcing results for central panel, the results for 44 councilor seats were out with Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) affiliated ABVP winning 24 out of 44 seats, making major inroads into the leftist strongholds. The ABVP has recorded historic victories across 16 schools and special centres. This is the highest number of seats won by any student organisation of JNU. Around 200 candidates were in the fray for 42 councilor posts.
This year’s elections mark a significant shift in campus politics. For the first time in years, the United Left stands divided. The All India Students Association (AISA) and the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) have formed one bloc, while the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), All India Students’ Federation (AISF), and the Progressive Students’ Association (PSA) have come together to form another. This fragmentation is being seen as an opportunity for the ABVP) to make a strong comeback.
In this year’s JNUSU Polls, core issues remained the same as fee hikes, drinking water, gender equality, freedom of expression, and the infrastructural challenges of JNU. But the recent terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam has added a deeply emotional and political layer to
the campaign.
Before the presidential debate began, a two-minute silence was observed for the victims. AISA and DSF held a candlelight march, while ABVP’s Shikha Swaraj used the moment to strike a rhetorical blow, asking, “Did the terrorists in Kashmir ask the victims’ religion before killing them?”
This year, 13 candidates are in the race for president, including Shikha Swaraj (ABVP), Nitish Kumar (AISA), Suman (AIDSO), and Pradeep Dhaka (NSUI). ABVP’s full panel includes Nittu Goutham (Vice-President), Kunal Rai (General Secretary), and Vaibhav Meena (Joint Secretary).
The AISA-DSF alliance has nominated Nitish Kumar for president, Manisha for vice president, Munteha Fatima for general secretary, and Naresh Kumar for joint secretary.
Meanwhile, the SFI-BAPSA-AISF-PSA bloc has put forward Choudhary Tayyaba Ahmed for president, Santosh Kumar for vice president, Ramniwas Gurjar for general secretary, and Nigam Kumar for joint secretary.
