Four Left parties have come together to form a “united-Left” panel to contest the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections to “reassert the essence of JNU against multipronged assaults by the RSS-BJP government-administration nexus.”
The All India Students’ Association (AISA), the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) will put up candidates for the post of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary respectively.
‘Opponents afraid’
Reacting to the tie-up, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad presidential candidate Lalit Pandey said, “Left-wing organisations on campus have teamed up as the ABVP is the single largest student organisation and its opponents are afraid that if they do not come together, they are sure to lose.”
Launching an attack on the outgoing union, he said the Left parties that have occupied JNUSU posts have been busy debating on international affairs and are more worried about what is going on in Palestine than issues affecting students.
Hitting out at the ABVP for saying that the JNUSU has not worked for students, N. Sai Balaji, the presidential candidate from the united-Left panel, said “The union stood by the students of JNU, led several protests and fought it out on campus or in courts. Be it the sexual harassment complaints against [Professor] Atul Johri or the undemocratic decisions taken by the Vice-Chancellor that are changing the face of JNU, the outgoing JNUSU has been at the forefront of every student movement to bring justice.”
He said due to the crackdown on dissent, Left activists had been collectively fined ₹3.5 lakh by the administration, and four FIR had been filed against students by the administration “for fighting for the rights of students”.
‘Dissent criminalised’
He added that a time has come in the country when “dissent is being criminalised in the country, communal lynching is being encouraged and there is growing unemployment”, and that it is for the students to stand up and fight against such a situation.
Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) presidential candidate Thallapelli Praveen attacked both the ABVP and the outgoing JNUSU for the state of affairs on campus with regard to cuts in funding and seats, and several issues that deny students who come from marginalised sections of society an inclusive campus.
“Students of JNU need to break out of this Left-wing and Right-wing binary, and elect to power an association that will fight for students’ rights till the end,” he said.
Education policies
NSUI candidate Vikas Yadav slammed the Central government for its new education policies resulting in fund cuts, which in turn will possibly deny future generations from gaining access to higher education. He also criticised the outgoing union for not leading a strong-enough movement to go against the policies that the administration has been forcing upon JNUSU.
For the first time, the students’ wing of the Rashtriya Janata Dal has fielded a presidential candidate — Jayant Kumar.
This year’s JNUSU poll will also see two independent candidates — Jahnu Kumar Heer and Saib Bilaval. The elections are scheduled for September 14, with the night-long presidential debate on September 12.
Issues and promises
There are several issues in JNU that need to be addressed. These include fee hike, better hostel facilities, road maintenance, better research facilities, and increase in fellowship and funds for field trips. As a PhD scholar, I recognise the importance of such facilities and will fight to ensure that such issues are solved
Jahnu Kumar Heer,
Independent
The JNUSU poll is a platform to send a message to the entire country as it is not only about issues that affect students on campus but the problems being faced by students across the nation as it captures the mood of the country. I want to highlight the way education is being privatised, reservation policy is being done away with and mob lynching has becoming common
Jayant Kumar,
RJD students’ wing
One look at the crumbling infrastructure on campus and you will see how ineffective the JNUSU has been in taking up student issues. The Left parties do not have a vision or a mission for the campus. We will make the placement cell of JNU more effective so that students who finish studies from here leave with jobs
Lalit Pandey,
ABVP
Higher education is being destroyed by the fund cut being orchestrated by the Narendra Modi government, and students are not getting scholarships and fellowships. We have been actively protesting against such policies on campus and speaking up for the common students
Vikas Yadav,
NSUI
When we protest against lack of library facilities or lack of water in hostels, we are fined by the administration for showing dissent. The reason why there are no funds for basic facilities is because the government has diverted crores of rupees to Jio Institute. When we show dissent against such policies on the streets, we are lathi-charged and water cannons are fired on us to silence us, but we will continue to fight
N. Sai Balaji,
United-Left panel
Political parties on campus have been dividing students instead of bringing them together to fight against several decisions being taken by the V-C to destroy JNU. I will form a ‘V-C Hatao Committee’ taking everybody aboard so that the voice of the common student is heard. I am a day scholar and will fight for metro feeder buses to campus
Saib Bilaval,
Independent
BAPSA started several student movements on campus like blockade of the Administration Block and other strikes to protest against the anti-student measures of the administration, but just as our movement would gain momentum, the JNUSU would call-off the protest or the blockade. We will fight for the students till the very end
Thallapelli Praveen,
BAPSA
