Left unity sweeps JNU Students' Union polls, RSS-backed ABVP bites dust

 The Left unity retained its vice like grip in the Jawaharlal Nehru University here, effecting a clean sweep to win all four central panel posts in the students' union elections. RSS-backed ABVP bit the dust in the high-octane battle of ballots.

The alliance of the All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) swept the polls, reaffirming its upper hand on the campus.

With this year's outcome, the Left Unity has reasserted its political dominance, continuing its long tradition of leadership in the JNU -- a campus often seen as a cradle of debate, dissent and student activism.

While Aditi Mishra was elected president after defeating RSS-backed ABVP's Vikas Patel by 449 votes, Kizhakoot Gopika Babu bagged the vice-president's post after trouncing Tanya Kumari. Sunil Yadav and Danish Ali won the posts of general secretary and joint secretary respectively after defeating their right-wing rivals Rajeshwar Kant Dubey and Anuj.

The results mark a setback for the ABVP, which made a comeback to the JNUSU central panel last year when Vaibhav Meena won the joint secretary's post -- the outfit's first victory in a decade. Earlier, Saurabh Sharma's win in 2015 had ended a 14-year drought for the right-wing organisation. Before that, the ABVP's only presidential victory dates back to 2000-01, when Sandeep Mahapatra broke through the Left's dominance.

The election, often seen as a reflection of larger ideological battles, was primarily between the Left unity - a coalition of the All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) - and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

While the Left bloc focused on 'inclusion, accessibility and student welfare', the ABVP campaigned on themes of 'performance and nationalism'.

A total of 9,043 students were eligible to vote for four key central posts - president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary - and for 42 councillor seats across various schools.

Even before counting was taken up on Thursday, former JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, said, "The Left unity will win all four central panel seats."

Last year, AISA's Nitish Kumar had won the president's post, while ABVP's Vaibhav Meena had secured the joint secretary position, marking the right-wing outfit's return to the union after a decade.

The polls this time recorded a voter turnout of 67 per cent, marking a slight dip from 70 per cent in the previous election. In 2023-24 polls, the university witnessed 73 per cent voting, the highest in the past decade.