Aishe Ghosh becomes first incumbent JNUSU president to contest Assembly polls

New Delhi

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh is set to become the first sitting chief of the students’ body to contest an Assembly election in the varsity’s history, officials said.

Ghosh was nominated as the CPI (M) candidate from the Jamuria constituency in Bardhaman district on Wednesday for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. Jamuria goes to polls on April 26.

Elections to 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

Ghosh, 26, is pursuing MPhil from the School of International Studies at the university. She was elected as the JNUSU president as the candidate of CPI(M) affiliated Students’ Federation of India (SFI) in September 2019, and her term as the students’ body head was extended last year after the students’ union elections could not be held owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, Ghosh took to Twitter saying, “Will be contesting from Jamuria legislative assembly seat as a candidate of the CPI (M), supported by the Sanyukta Morcha. Requesting all of your support.”

Ayesha Kidwai, professor at the Centre for Linguistics, said that no other incumbent JNUSU president has ever contested in an Assembly or Lok Sabha election before. “Aishe Ghosh so far is the first incumbent JNUSU president to contest in an election,” she said.

Sachidanand Sinha, a professor at JNU’s Centre for Study of Regional Development, also said. “So many JNUSU members have contested in elections before. But they have all done so only after completing their education from the university. Aishe contesting in an election will create a positive impact on students’ politics in general,” he said.

Among others to have contested polls after getting out of JNU are former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, Sitharam Yechury, and Shakeel Ahmed Khan.

Aishe’s colleague and JNUSU vice president Saket Moon said, “The participation of an incumbent student union leader in a mainstream election will make it clear that the struggles we lead in the campus are not just limited to the campus. A student participating in politics will create a larger impact because it will encourage more students to become leaders in the future.”

Ghosh was among the 35-odd people, including students and teachers, who were attacked during a spell of violence that took place at the JNU campus in January 2020. She had sustained a severe head injury, and her left arm was fractured in the attack.