Live: Left Sweeps JNUSU Polls, ABVP Comes in Second
Seven candidates are in the fray for the post of the JNUSU president.
Left Sweeps All Four JNUSU Seats
It’s a clean sweep for the Left in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union elections, with the alliance of the SFI, AISA and DSF winning all four seats.
The BJP-backed ABVP finished runners up in each of the races, with its presidential candidate Nidhi Tripathi claiming that the ABVP had clinched “the ideological, moral and numerical victory in the polls”. BAPSA was not far behind at third place.
Kumari will replace Mohit Pandey, also from the Left, as the new JNUSU president. Asked about whether she expects as turbulent a tenure as her predecessor, Kumari replies:
Counting continued well past midnight and the final results only came in around 3 am on Sunday, 10 September.
The Quint was live at JNU minutes before the final results were declared.
However, the ABVP claimed that they had “already won ideologically and morally, even before the election.”
Read the full story here.
Here Are the Final Results
For President:
- Geeta Kumari (Left Unity) - 1506
- Nidhi Tripathi (ABVP) - 1042
- Shabana Ali (BAPSA) - 935
For Vice President:
- Simon Zoya Khan (Left Unity) - 1876
- Durgesh Kumar (ABVP) - 1028
- Subodh Kunwer (BAPSA) - 910
For General Secretary:
- Duggirala Srikrishna (Left Unity) - 2082
- Nikunj Makwana (ABVP) - 975
- Karam Bidyanath Khuman (BAPSA) - 854
For Joint Secretary:
- Shubhanshu Singh (Left Unity) - 1755
- Pankaj Keshari (ABVP) - 920
- Vinod Kumar (BAPSA) - 862
2,381 Votes Are Counted, Left Alliance Leads in All Posts
As the evening progresses, it brings good news for the Left Alliance in the JNUSU polls, with their candidates leading in all four posts – President, Vice-President, General Secretary and Joint Secretary. This is where all the candidates stand.
For President, Geeta Kumari of the Left Alliance is leading with Nidhi Tripathi from ABVP and Shabana Ali from BAPSA trailing close behind. In the race for Vice-President, Simon Zoya Khan from the Left Alliance looks set to win, with Durgesh from ABVP coming second. For General Secretary and Joint Secretary, Duggirala Srikrishna, and Shubhansu Singh from the Left Alliance respectively, are leading.
After Counting 2,131 Votes, United Left Edges Over ABVP
The Left Alliance’s Geeta Kumari has received 580 votes, with ABVP’s Nidhi Tripathi trailing close behind with 544 votes, after counting of 2,131 votes, reported India Today.
For the vice president’s post, the ABVP candidate is in the lead, while the Left Alliance is leading the general secretary and joint secretary contest.
BJP Leader Falls for Fake News Claiming ABVP Had Won
Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of the BJP fell for fake news online that claimed ABVP had won the JNUSU polls and the presidential race.
End of Counting for Two Schools, Early Lead for ABVP
As counting continues in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) elections, early leads indicate the ABVP has taken a lead in the race to be the student union’s new president. Counting has been completed in the School of International Studies and others centres.
In a tightly-contested presidential race, Nidhi Tripathi of the ABVP is in the lead, followed by Geeta Kumari from the Left Alliance, and Shabana Ali from BAPSA.
For the post of vice president and Joint Secretary, ABVP candidates are in the lead, while the Left Alliance candidate leads in the contest for general secretary.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) went to polls on 8 September. Counting began late on 8 September.
Almost 58 percent of the JNU students turned up to cast their ballots to elect the new office-bearers of the students' union.
This year’s election was predominantly a three-cornered fight between the right-wing ABVP, the Left Unity of AISA, SFI and DSF, and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA).
Who Is in the Fray?
Seven candidates are in the fray for the post of student union president, which is currently held by the AISA in alliance with the SFI.
A total of 4,639 students – or 58.69 percent (of 7,903 voters) – cast their ballots, a drop from 59.60 percent last year, according to the JNUSU election committee.
Polling was held in two phases – between 9.30 am and 1 pm, and 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm.
However, looking at the absolute numbers – this year total number of voters were just 8,045 because of seat cuts compared to last year's around 8,600 students.
Accused in Najeeb Ahmed Case Contests Polls
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) fielded a candidate accused of assaulting university student Najeeb Ahmed, who disappeared last October and has been untraceable since.
A proctorial inquiry reportedly found ABVP's Ankit Roy – nominated for the post of councillor from the School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies – “to be involved in hitting” Najeeb Ahmed before his disappearance.
Students from the university, some affiliated to Opposition parties such as All-India Students Association (AISA) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), have taken strong exception to Roy’s nomination.
Many of them have pointed out that his candidature goes against the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee report, as per which any student facing disciplinary action is not allowed to contest elections.
Also Read: JNUSU Polls: Najeeb’s ‘Assaulter’ Sparks Row As ABVP Candidate
(With PTI inputs)
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