The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections are on the home stretch with the presidential debate concluding in the early hours of Monday after a delayed start. In keeping with what has almost become a well-established tradition, candidates across the contending political platforms – and an Independent to boot – punched well above their weight as they debated national, international and campus issues. Debate night cast its net wide, from the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and the conflict and humanitarian tragedy in Gaza to more mundane matters such as the Chief Proctor Office (CPO) manual that imposes strict fines on students.
This year, there are seven candidates in the fray for the post of JNUSU president. With the All India Students’ Union (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) forming an alliance to counter the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the audience at Jhelum Lawns was split into largely two camps. Dhols and daflis vied with sound bites through the night.
Aditi Mishra, the Left Unity candidate, attacked the ABVP in her speech. “Their attack is not just on one person, but on the idea of India, the idea of universities and the idea of JNU,” she said, touching upon the SIR in Bihar and Gaza among other things before taking aim at the Prime Minister over a recent incident in Supreme Court. “They say with [Narendra] Modi, anything is possible. I say with Modi, a Dalit Chief Justice of India is being attacked with a slipper and there is no action taken.”
