Political enthusiasts, members of students’ bodies and students were among those who gathered at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus for the presidential debate on Wednesday night, ahead of the JNUSU elections on Friday.
The high-voltage debate saw students beating drums, cheering for their parties and shouting slogans of ‘Lal Salaam’ well until day-break. The night-long debate, which is among the unique features of the JNUSU elections, is also part of the last leg of campaigning before the university votes for a new students’ body.
This year there are seven candidates in the fray for the post of president, who deliberated upon the political and social issues concerning the country and the world as a whole, apart from issues concerning JNU itself.
The Left-leaning student bodies, including All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), criticised the policies of the Narendra Modi government, the killings of Govind Pansare and M. Karlburgi, the banning of Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle and the Vyapam scam, among other issues.
With regard to campus issues, the candidates highlighted the need for more hostels and better campus security.
Students’ Federation of India (SFI) candidate Paritosh Nath said: “In 2012, the AISA had promised to get seven new hostels for the university, and in 2013 again they promised more hostels. Where are those hostels now? Nothing has happened so far. We need a union that knows the path of resistance and conciliation.”
AISA candidate Vijay Kumar did not say much about the internal issues at JNU, but chose to concentrate on national and international issues instead.
The AISF candidate, Kanhaiya Kumar, criticised the AISA for breaking the Left unity and practicing sectarian politics.
Kumar’s arguments about fighting the Lyngdoh committee, challenging religious hegemony and the need to fight for Left unity garnered applause from the audience.
ABVP candidate Gaurav Kumar Jha, however, had to face a lot of brickbats from the crowd, which called him “feku” after he tried to justify the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its relevance in a Left-dominated campus. As soon as he ended his speech, the crowd broke into slogans of “Lal Salaam”.
Except two disruptions due to technical faults, the presidential debate was largely trouble-free. There was a small verbal fight between supporters of the NSUI and ABVP, but this was quelled by members of the JNU Election Commission.
A total of 22 candidates are in the fray for the JNU students’ union that will include the president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary.
The parties contesting the elections this year include AISA, AISF, ABVP, SFI, NSUI, SFI, Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA).
The AISA had swept the JNUSU polls last year bagging all top four positions, including the president’s post for the second year. It was last year that the university’s Election Commission introduced the None of the Above (NOTA) option, and digital voting that was widely used by visually-impaired students.
