NEW DELHI: The United Left panel made a clean sweep in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union election, defeating its nearest rival the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Sunday.
The JNUSU results were declared late night on Sunday effecting a clean sweep of the United Left alliance on three seats of the Central Panel with one post of the four-member panel bagged by BAPSA.
The United Left panel comprises AISA, Democratic Students' Federation (DSF), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF).
The Left once again showed their dominance in the university after lagging behind ABVP in the early hours of counting of votes.
In the polls that happened after a hiatus of four years due to the pandemic, Dhananjay from the All India Students Association (AISA) won the president post by securing 2,598 votes against ABVP’s Umesh C Ajmeera’s 1,676 votes.
Dhananjay became the first Dalit president since 1996.
N Sai Balaji was the last JNUSU president from AISA in 2018-19. The last JNUSU polls held in 2019 were swept by Left-backed groups which comprised AISA, SFI, DFS, and AISF.
Avijit Ghosh from the Students Federation of India (SFI) trounced ABVP’s Deepika Sharma to win the vice-president post.
Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) candidate Priyanshi Arya, who was supported by the Left, won the general secretary post by defeating the ABVP’s Arjun Anand.
The United Left extended its support to Arya after the election committee cancelled the nomination of its candidate Swati Singh when her candidacy was challenged by the ABVP.
Notably, Priyanshi is the first Dalit queer general secretary.
The Left’s Mohammad Sajid won the joint secretary post by defeating the ABVP’s Govind.
The JNU polls, held on March 22, recorded a 73 per cent voter turnout, highest in 12 years. Over 5,600 students of 7,751 registered cast their votes.
Nineteen candidates were vying for positions on the JNUSU central panel and 42 for school counsellors, with eight contenders in the fray for the prestigious role of president.
The central panel consists of president, vice president, joint secretary and general secretary.
The winners
President: Dhananjay from AISA
Vice-President: Avijit Ghosh from SFI
General Secretary: Priyanshi Arya from BAPSA
Joint Secretary: Md Sajid from Left
Dhananjay: 'We will continue to fight for students' rights'
Dhananjay hails from Gaya, Bihar and is the first Dalit president from the Left after Batti Lal Bairwa, who was elected in 1996-97.
Speaking to PTI after the win, Dhananjay said, "This victory is a referendum by the students of JNU that they reject the politics of hate and violence. The students have once again shown their trust in us. We will continue to fight for their rights and work on issues that concern students."
"The safety of women on campus, fund cuts, scholarship hike, infrastructural and water crisis are among the top priorities of the students' union to begin with," he added.
BAPSA secures historic Central Panel seat in JNUSU with Left's support
The Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) clinched a position in the Central Panel of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) for the first time in its history.
Priyanshi Arya, BAPSA's general secretary candidate, emerged victorious in the student union elections by defeating ABVP's Arjun Anand by 926 votes. Arya polled in 2,887 votes while Anand received 1,961 votes.
BAPSA is an Ambedkarite students' organisation formed on November 15, 2014 at the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Birsa Munda's birth anniversary.
Ever since the inception of JNUSU elections, BAPSA has never been able to secure a position in the Central Panel of JNUSU which comprises the president, vice president, secretary, and joint secretary.
However, the association has consistently won counsellor positions.
Despite its active involvement in JNUSU's activities and a substantial voter base, BAPSA had struggled to secure a seat in the central panel until now.
The turning point came when the nomination of DSF President Swati Singh, slated to be the general secretary candidate of the United Left Alliance, was revoked following a complaint to the Grievance Redressal Committee.
Subsequently, the Left alliance reconfigured its strategy and threw its support behind BAPSA's general secretary candidate, Priyanshi Arya.
This last-minute shift saw Priyanshi Arya secure victory with an overwhelming support from the alliance.
However, following the elections, BAPSA opted to distance itself from the alliance, expressing its intention to contest future elections independently.
Addressing the media, Pramod Sagar, an official of BAPSA, emphasised the association's "long-standing presence and its independent voter base," citing past instances of supporting the Left alliance candidates "without receiving reciprocal acknowledgment".
Meanwhile Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin took to X to congratulate the United Left Panel and also mentioned the cancellation of Swati Singh's nomination for the gen-sec post following an ABVP complaint.
"Congratulations to the #UnitedLeftPanel on their resounding victory in #JNUSU elections! The ABVP's violent tactics, and even cancelling Left candidate @itssinghswati 's nomination at the last minute, revealed their fear of defeat. Despite their shameful actions, the #JNU community has reaffirmed its rich tradition. This victory signals the downfall of right-wing fascist forces. The people of #INDIA will unitedly reject BJP in the #Elections2024. #SaveIndia #Vote4INDIA," the CM wrote.
(With PTI and Online Desk inputs)
