The Left students’ groups at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday registered a resounding victory by sweeping all four union posts.
The alliance of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Students Federation (DSF) won the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary in the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) elections. The elections witnessed 67 per cent voter turnout on Tuesday.
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) failed to win a single seat. The ABVP had won the seat of joint secretary in the last elections held in April. However, the ABVP secured the second place in all the posts on Thursday.
The Left Unity’s Aditi Mishra won the president’s post against the ABVP’s Vikash Patel while the LU’s K. Gopika, Sunil Yadav and Danish Ali were elected to the posts of vice-president, secretary and joint secretary, respectively. Among the councillor posts, the Left Unity registered victory in around 30.
In the last elections in April, the Left groups had fought separately. The AISA and the DSF had formed an alliance while the SFI had aligned with the All India Students Federation (AISF), Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), a group representing socially marginalised students, and the Progressive Students’ Association (PSA).
Former JNUSU president Sai Balaji said LU’s victory demonstrates the resolve of JNU students to reject Rightwing forces. “The results are a statement against ABVP, BJP and RSS and their ideology and politics,” Balaji said.
In a statement, SFI president Adarsh M. Saji and secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya said the students of JNU had once again reaffirmed their commitment to the “university’s progressive, democratic and secular legacy” by rejecting the ABVP.
“This resounding mandate reflects a clear and conscious rejection of Rightwing authoritarianism and a continued assertion of JNU’s role as a bastion of critical thought and resistance,” the statement said.