ABVP, Left announce central panel candidates for Nov 4 JNUSU polls

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) election committee on Wednesday released the final list of nominations.

The JNUSU election will be held on November 4, with the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Left alliance key contenders for the top posts.

For the four-member central panel — president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary – the ABVP has fielded Vikas Patel, Tanya Kumari, Rajeshwar Kant Dubey, and Anuj, respectively.

Patel is a third-year PhD research scholar, while Kumari is pursuing her PhD in Sociology from the Centre for the Study of Social Systems. Dubey and Anuj are also research scholars at the university.

The Left alliance, comprising the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), has announced Aditi Mishra, a PhD scholar from the School of International Studies, as its presidential candidate.

Kizhakoot Gopika Babu will contest for the post of vice-president, while Sunil Yadav and Danish Ali will contest for the posts of general Secretary and joint secretary

With the polls less than a week away, campaigning is in full swing across the university.

Student groups have intensified door-to-door outreach in hostels and academic blocks, holding corner meetings, open discussions and poster campaigns.

Debates and public meetings are being organised daily at various spots on the campus, with the rival groups highlighting issues such as hostel shortages, library facilities, research funding, and campus safety.

The JNUSU elections have always been marked by strong ideological contests.

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The Left alliance, which has traditionally dominated the union, suffered strong blows to its dominance in the last elections.

In last year’s polls, the Left won three of the four central panel posts, while the ABVP bagged the joint secretary’s position, its first victory in nearly a decade.

According to the election committee, there are 9,043 eligible voters this year.

About 30 per cent of the central panel nominations and 25 per cent of the school councillor nominations are from female candidates, it added.