The All India Students’ Association (AISA), the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) have formed a “United Left Panel” to fight the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) election, scheduled to take place on September 8.
The United Left Panel has said it will fight what it calls a “multi-pronged assault by the RSS-BJP government-administration nexus” on the “democratic essence of JNU”.
However, the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), the party to which former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar belongs to, has decided not to support the call for a united Left and has fielded its own candidate for the post of president.
Meet the candidates
On Wednesday, the student-run election commission for the upcoming JNUSU polls introduced the presidential candidates and permitted them to introduce their campaign. There are seven candidates running for the post of President.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), AISF and the United Left Panel have all fielded women candidates. The remaining two candidates are standing as Independents.
Speaking about the issues on campus, NSUI candidate Vrishnika Singh said that there was an urgent need for better health care facilities on campus and underlined that several research scholars at JNU were suffering from depression and that there was no counselling facility available on campus.
‘Fighting for minorities’
BAPSA candidate Shabana Ali said her party represents the Ambedkarite Movement and will work towards the betterment of the oppressed communities and minorities on campus through the discourse “unity of the oppressed”.
Ms. Ali said that the recent seat-cuts in JNU was because the “Right-wing government has launched an attack on higher education as they are scared that students would rise and question its policies”. She added that the oppressed classes and minorities have been impacted most by the seat cut.
Ms. Ali said that the United Left Panel was formed not to fight the threat posed by the ABVP, but was meant to suppress and attack minority voices that BAPSA represents.
United Left Panel candidate Geeta Kumari said that over 1,000 students did not get the opportunity to study at the university this year as the JNU Vice- Chancellor was making policies to shut down the university.
She also blamed the ABVP for the disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed.
‘Incompetent JNUSU’
ABVP candidate Nidhi Tripathi, meanwhile said that JNU had become a victim of ‘Left unity’.
“The incompetent JNUSU has failed to launch a single successful movement for students’ interest,” she added.
Refuting allegations that the ABVP has not been standing up for students, Ms. Tripathi said: “We had gone on a hunger strike to protest against the seat cut. However, all our efforts were spoilt as JNUSU took the matter to court and the little that we had achieved was lost in the process. Students have been cheated by the previous JNUSU. The ABVP looks forward to bring about a change this time.”
AISF candidate Aparajitha Raja said that when her party was part of the JNUSU, it was able to launch successful movements and was able to mobilise students to fight for their rights.
“However, in the past year, the JNUSU has failed to successfully run any student movement and practice responsible and principled politics that led to lapses like shrinking of democratic spaces on campus and the seat cut,” she added.
Farooque Alam, an Independent candidate, said he intends to highlight the plight of differently-abled students.
“No party has ever brought up issues of differently-abled students. The present V-C has not even bothered to look into the issue. Both the Right and the Left parties have failed.”
The seventh presidential candidate, Gaurav Kumar, who is also fighting Independently, was not available for comment.
Last year, the top four posts in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union were bagged by the united AISA and SFI panel.
