The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus buzzed with drums, chants, and campaign songs on Tuesday as students turned out in large numbers to elect their new union leaders.
The university recorded a 67% voter turnout in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections, slightly lower than the 68.3% registered in the April polls earlier this year. Counting of votes began on Tuesday night and will continue on Wednesday, with final results expected on Thursday.
Twenty candidates are in the fray for the four key central panel posts – president, vice-president, general secretary, and joint secretary – while 42 councillor seats are being contested across different schools. Around 9,043 students were eligible to vote this year. Voting took place in two batches, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. to 5 p.m., but long queues kept the process going until nearly 6 p.m.
Ideological battles
Unlike the previous election, when the Left bloc had split, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Association (AISA), and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) have come together under the banner of Left Unity to ensure the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) “stays out of the union”.
