Left maintains JNUSU foothold; ABVP breaks nine-year drought, clinches joint secretary post

Left candidates bagged three of the four central panel posts in the JNUSU election to maintain their foothold in the premier university while the RSS-affiliated ABVP ended a nine-year phase out of office to win the post of joint secretary.

According to the results announced by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) election commission early on Monday, Nitish Kumar of the All India Students' Association (AISA) secured 1,702 votes to win the post of president.

His closest competitor -- Shikha Swaraj of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) -- secured 1,430 votes while the Students' Federation of India (SFI)-supported Tayabba Ahmed polled 918 votes.

Manisha of the Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) won the post of vice-president by securing 1,150 votes, ahead of the ABVP's Nittu Goutham who polled 1,116 votes.

The DSF also bagged the general secretary's post, with Munteha Fatima polling 1,520 votes, ahead of the ABVP's Kunal Rai who secured 1,406 votes.

The ABVP clinched the post of joint secretary, with Vaibhav Meena polling 1,518 votes, ahead of AISA's Naresh Kumar (1,433 votes) and Progressive Students' Association (PSA) candidate Nigam Kumari (1,256 votes).

Meena's win marked the first time the ABVP has bagged a central panel post since Saurav Sharma's victory on the same post in 2015-16. The last time the ABVP won the post of president was in 2000-01 when Sandeep Mahapatra had emerged victorious.

This year's election saw a split in the Left alliance, with the AISA and the DSF contesting as one bloc while the SFI and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) formed a coalition with the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) and the PSA.

The ABVP contested the election independently.

Hailing the victory of its alliance on three central panel posts, AISA also raised concern over the ABVP's narrow win for the post of joint secretary and called it a challenge to the Left's dominance on campus.

"It is indeed a matter of concern that the ABVP has won the post of joint secretary with a margin of 85 votes. Despite this structural assault and corruption of the admission process to ensure BJP loyalists in faculty positions act as a ticket for the ruling regime on campus, the Left has returned to its leadership position in the JNUSU," AISA said in a statement.

It called the alliance's victory a mandate against the government's New Education Policy which, it said, undermined public-funded education and discriminated against marginalised groups.

Newly-elected JNUSU President Nitish Kumar told PTI videos, "This is a mandate against a government that has been trying to destroy the campus. It's a mandate against the current government's policies."

"We are witnessing how funds are being slashed and infrastructure is being ruined at JNU. This is a strong message against such destructive policies. The government should stop these actions and start giving JNU what it rightfully deserves," he said.

In contrast, the ABVP called its victory "a historic shift in JNU's political landscape" and said it broke the Left's "so-called red fortress".

"This victory in JNU is not only proof of the ABVP's proactive hard work and students' faith and commitment to nationalist thinking but it is also a victory for all students who consider education as the foundation for nation-rebuilding. This is a democratic revolution against the so-called ideological tyranny established by the Left for years in JNU," the ABVP said in a statement.

Attacking the SFI, the other major left group, AISA said the SFI chose to form a separate alliance whose credibility was under question throughout the election process.

While the SFI claimed that BAPSA was in alliance with them, BAPSA's pamphlet had refuted the assertion and the latter's candidate contested for the post of JNUSU president, AISA said.

"The opportunist and desperate attempt to appropriate the name of an Ambedkarite organisation was identified by the student community at large. The sectarian attitude manifested by the SFI shows in their performance on their presidential post, where they've secured 918 votes," it added.

Meena, the newly-elected joint secretary, said, "I am not at all considering this victory as my personal achievement or gain but it's a massive and fascinating victory of tribal consciousness and the nationalist ideology, which has been suppressed by the Left for years."

"This success is an embodiment of students who want to advance in education by wholeheartedly upholding cultural identity and the spirit of nation re-building," he added.

The polls, held on April 25, witnessed about 5,500 of the 7,906 eligible students casting their votes.

While the turnout was slightly lower than the 73 per cent recorded in 2023, it was among the highest since 2012.

Twenty-nine candidates were in the fray for the four central panel posts and 200 for the 44 councillor seats.

In the March 2024 polls, held after a four-year gap following the outbreak of Covid, the United Left won three of the four central panel posts while BAPSA -- which had contested independently -- secured one.