NEW DELHI: The Left Unity panel won three seats in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), while the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won one seat, after a gap of ten years. Throughout the night, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) witnessed celebrations on both sides, with red and saffron flags dotting the campus.
The post of President was secured by Left Unity’s Nitish Kumar, the Vice-President post by Manisha, and the General Secretary post by Muntaha. This year, after a split with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the All India Students’ Association (AISA) allied with the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF). Nitish Kumar belongs to AISA, while Manisha and Muntaha are from DSF. The BAPSA-SFI panel failed to make a mark in the panel elections this year, despite BAPSA having made a clean sweep in the 2024 JNUSU elections.
The newly elected President, Nitish Kumar, said, “The first thing I want to start with is fighting to bring more funds for the University so that the old infrastructure of this Varsity can be revived.” Meanwhile, Vice-President Manisha said, “The credit for this win goes to the university..JNU was red and will remain red. We have always worked for the students and raised their voices, and we will continue doing so in the future too.”
Vaibhav Meena from ABVP won the Joint Secretary post, making him the first ABVP candidate in recent history to win a central panel post. ABVP also claimed victory in 24 councillor posts out of 42. On Sunday afternoon, when half the votes were counted, ABVP was leading across all seats, especially for the President and Vice-President posts. However, ultimately winning just one central panel seat was still considered a historic achievement for ABVP at JNU. The campus was abuzz with loud slogans from ABVP leaders.
The organisation posted on X, saying, “This victory marks a significant achievement. It reflects the trust and confidence of the student community in the vision and dedication of ABVP. A new era of leadership begins!” Congratulatory messages poured in, with some urging ABVP not to let the ‘dafli gang’ drag JNU their way.
Meanwhile, BJP’s IT in-charge Amit Malviya congratulated ABVP, stating, “ABVP has delivered an unprecedented performance, winning 23 out of 42 councillor seats — the highest number won by any student organisation.”
The JNUSU polls on Friday recorded a voter turnout of 68.3%, a 5% decline from last year’s 73%, which had been the highest in 12 years. Out of 7,906 registered voters, 5,400 cast their votes this year.
ABVP sets new record, wins 23 of 44 councillor seats
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won 23 of the 44 councillor posts across 16 schools and special centres of JNU, setting a new record in the students’ union elections. Under the United Left alliance, AISA and DSF secured seven seats, while the Left-Ambedkarite Unity Panel won five.
The rest went to independents and others. AISA alleged that ABVP is falsely counting independents as their own to inflate their numbers. “ABVP’s victories came mostly from smaller schools where RSS-affiliated teachers influence students and discourage participation in progressive politics,” said AISA leader.
