When Anusuya Prakash, a 23-year-old Bhubaneshwar resident, landed an MPhil seat at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi this year, she was excited to be a part of what she called “the biggest experience of democracy.” This year, Prakash and two of her friends cut short their three-day plan to go back home and instead went ahead to cast their vote at the JNU-Students’ Union election. “We will support the candidate who promises to work for student issues,” she said.
Even with a voter turnout of just 56 per cent, this year the students voted out SFI’s breakaway and newly-established Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) and elected the ultra-Left All Indian Students Association (AISA) for all four posts. Last year, AISA had only lost the president’s post to SFI-JNU, now known as DSF.
Some students said the results were a reflection of delivered promises and their statements reflected in the figures. AISA’s Akbar Chaudhary was elected president handing down a crushing defeat to DSF candidate Ishan Anand. Chaudhary polled 1,979 votes against Anand’s 660.
This year, BJP’s student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad and Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India fared better than in the past. The ABVP won six councillor seats and bagged almost one per cent of panel voting which was 523 votes more than their last good showing in 2004. NSUI finished third for the post of president with 392 more votes than DSF and second for the post of General Secretary with 800 more votes (than DSF).
Though all four parties seemed to have gained more visibility during elections, the sudden removal of the Communist-bent DSF from the JNUSU panel has not come as a surprise to the student body. Some even said that these results mirrored the general sentiment on campus.
Anna Verghese, a PhD student at the Centre of Historical Studies said, “AISA has been actively raising student issues. Our two main issues which they have managed to take to the administration include extension of fellowship till the last two years and the increase of means cum merit scholarship. The amount has been raised from `1,500 to `2,000,” she said. Verghese added that while members of AISA were seen on campus raising such issues, other political parties were more or less absent.
Govind Khatri, NSUI-JNU in-charge, however, said the party raised several important issues and managed to gain more involvement from students. “The result was a clear indication that students now want leaders to talk about localized issues rather than international issues that may not really affect them,” said.
Sources said AISA’s win was almost predetermined given that they thrived on a well-managed student network and wide visibility. Sandeep Singh, National President AISA said, “We were confident of our win since we fought for issues that matter and this resonated with the students.”