Delhi: Trends indicate ABVP wins 23 seats in JNUSU polls

Trends in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNU) elections on Sunday favoured the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), indicating that it is likely to win 23 of the 42 councillor seats across 16 schools and special centres.

In the central panel contests, Nitish Kumar, backed by the All India Students’ Association and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), is leading in the post for president with 1,577 votes over ABVP’s Shikha Swaraj who has 1,375 votes.

For the post of vice-president, ABVP’s nominee Nittu Gautam is leading with 1,080 votes over AISA-DSF candidate Manisha who has 1,076 votes.

For general secretary, AISA-DSF’s Munteha Fatima is leading with 1,410 votes over ABVP’s Kunal Rai who has 1,341 votes.

For joint secretary, ABVP’s Vaibhav Meena is leading with 1,464 votes over AISA-DSF’s Naresh Kumar with 1,350 votes.

The trends suggested a significant shift in the traditionally Left-leaning bastions, such as the School of Social Sciences and the School of International Studies, where ABVP is likely to secure two seats each for the first time in 25 years, ABVP said.

ABVP is likely to sweep all seats in the School of Engineering, the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, and the Amalgamated Centre. Several candidates, including Surendra Bishnoi and Govardhan Singh, are likely to get elected unopposed, ABVP said.

“This victory is an onset of positive change that the students of JNU have chosen through ABVP and a testament to our commitment to nationalism, academic excellence and student welfare,” said ABVP’s JNU unit president, Rajeshwar Kant Dubey.

The results will be declared on April 28, following which one president, one vice-president, one general secretary and one joint secretary will be elected for the central panel, while 42 councillors will be elected for the various schools under JNU.

This year, the process of the student union election, usually held in March,witnessed several hurdles, including the fracture of the long-standing unity of the Left. This led to AISA allying with the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), while SFI, Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), All India Students Federation (AISF), and Progressive Students’ Association (PSA) fielded separate candidates.