NEW DELHI: Meet Ragavendra Mishra, a 27-year-old physically disabled student from Jawaharlal Nehru University, who is also popularly known as ‘JNU’s Yogi’. He has decided to save “fading of pure Hindu ideology”.
Mishra, a former Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member sees the RSS-backed student wing as his main rival in the student elections.
Doing PhD from Sanskrit, Mishra who is alike the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to contest as an independent candidate against the ABVP for the president's post in this year’s JNU Student Union polls.
“I was a true supporter of ABVP but the party never took care of the true Hindutva ideology. They just use the tag for their own purpose. Neither the party works for the welfare of the student nor they take action when Left leaning students deface the image of Hindu goddess Durga and posters around. Because of them (ABVP), the real idea of Hinduism has lost its charm in JNU” Mishra told Express.
Meanwhile, the students from other parties including ABVP said every year during the elections, ‘crazy’ people like Mishra fill their nominations to get famous and seek media attention.
“The ABVP only shouts ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ but it kept its mouth shut when people defame the Hindu goddess and the woman in the campus by posting bad pictures. They never discuss the issues of woman, health care system for them” Mishra added.
However, Mishra, whose main agenda is to revive the lost Hinduism by laying Yogi's principles in JNU, is ready to discuss his points and ideology in the upcoming presidential debate which is scheduled on Sixth and Seventh of September, followed by the polling day.
After the All India Student Association (AISA) and Student Federation of India (SFI) coming together last year to defeat ABVP, this year the Democratic Students Front (DSF) has also joined the front. The left Parties in JNU have decided on the ratio of 2:1:1. in respect with the joint front to fight the upcoming University polls.
The DSF who supported the party from outside last year has decided to nominate Shubhanshu Duggal for the post of Joint Secretary. While SFI has nominated its candidate Duggi Rala Srikrishna for the post of general secretary.
The highest seats of the president and vice president will be secured by the bigger alliance AISA. It has chosen Geeta Kumari, for the post of President and Simon Zoya Khan for Vice President.