Despite defeat, ABVP emerges strong contender in Left-dominated JNU campus

Despite facing defeat on all four central posts in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections held recently, where Left unity prevailed, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has emerged as a strong contender as it narrowed margins, where once Left parties dominated.

Due to the narrow margins, experts at the JNU believe that the university is a fertile land for the saffron outfit, affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Traditionally, Left parties had a stronghold in the humanities schools, while the ABVP dominated the science schools.

However, the paradigm looks to be shifting, especially after the Covid pandemic that led to the suspension of JNUSU elections for five years, as the saffron outfit challenged the Left unity.

Aditi Mishra of the Left Unity won the presidential post, defeating her nearest rival Vikas Patel of the ABVP, with a margin of 414 votes, Danish Ali secured the joint secretary position, defeating Anuj Damara of the ABVP, with a margin of 286 votes, and Left candidate Sunil Yadav won the general secretary post, edging out Rajeshwar Kant Dubey of the ABVP, by merely 74 votes.

The Left Unity comprises of four prominent organisations – All-India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF). At one point, these organisations used to contest individually. Now, they have joined hands to counter the influence of the ABVP.

Govind Dangi, former ABVP candidate, said: “The acceptability of the saffron organisation has increased in the university. Last year, we won one seat. We were optimist this time too, but lost with narrow margin”.

“Once the ABVP was unacceptable among JNU students and used to get a maximum of merely 200-300 votes. Today, if we look back at the last three elections, victory margins are very narrow,” Dangi added. However, the Left has alleged that the ABVP tried to sabotage the democratic process through violence and disruption of school GBMs.

“Acting under political influence, the police attempted to silence students demanding justice. Yet, JNU students refused to be intimidated and united to defeat the fascist forces on the campus,” read a statement from the JNUSU.