Voting has commenced at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for the student union elections, which are being held after a gap of four years. The polls began after a delay of over an hour due to the time taken for the selection of polling agents, with the scheduled start time being 9 am.
Students gathered around the polling stations hours before the polling began, engaging in slogans and chants. ABVP supporters were heard chanting ‘Jai Shree,’ while Left groups used drums to chant ‘lal Salam’ in unison.
A total of 7,751 students are registered to cast their votes in the elections scheduled for March 22.
The Delhi High Court appointed former Supreme Court judge, Justice V Ramasubramanian, as the observer for the JNU Students Union elections while hearing a plea on the polls. The plea, filed by a JNU student, sought direction to frame appropriate university statutes, regulations, or mechanisms for conducting JNUSU elections, incorporating the recommendations prescribed in the Lyngdoh Commission.
The students’ union comprises four central panel positions: President, Vice President, General Secretary, and Joint Secretary. According to the election commission, eight candidates (1 woman, 7 men) have been finalized for the president position, and 4 candidates (1 woman, 3 men) are contesting for the position of vice president.
The ABVP has nominated Umesh Chandra Ajmira for the post of President and Deepika Sharma for Vice President. Arjun Anand and Govind Dangi have been nominated as candidates for General Secretary and Joint Secretary, respectively.
The United Left representatives from the AISA, SFI, DSF, and AISF panel have fielded Dhananjay as the Presidential candidate, Avijit Ghosh for Vice-President, Swati Singh for General Secretary, and Sajid for Joint Secretary as part of the left unity panel.
The JNUSU elections are being held after a gap of four years, with the previous elections being stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and not being conducted thereafter. The last JNUSU election was won by the left-backed SFI candidate Aishe Ghosh in 2019. The left student outfits had allied to contest in the 2019 polls under the banner of The United-Left alliance, which included a coalition of AISA, SFI, DSF, and AISF.