Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is back in the news again after holding student elections. This year’s election is notable for two reasons. The first reason was that the campus elections were held right before the Lok Sabha elections, which will occur in April and May of this year. The second distinguishing element of this election was that it was the first campus election held since 2019. However, it should be underlined that the communist student leaders at JNU were not as comfortable as those involved in communist student organisations in Kerala, notably SFI. To overcome the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)’s challenges, they had to preach more and visit the student hostels often. So this time, they won by sweating more because democracy and freedom grow stronger on the JNU campus each year. Suppose it had been like the campuses in Kerala. In that case, the left-wing might have beaten the ABVP candidates without consenting to file nominations by confronting and threatening them sportingly. But this time, they had to be more democratic because their old tactics were no longer viable at JNU. In short, JNU gets closer to nationalism, democracy, and freedom. The rise of the ABVP and other nationalist organisations is the foundation for the campus’s rapprochement with nationalism. The declining strength of communist student organisations is the basis for JNU’s rapprochement with democracy and freedom.
The ABVP has previously won several positions at JNU. The organisation was elected president in 2000, followed by joint secretary in 2016. However, in recent years, particularly since 2014, nationalist organisations like the ABVP have gradually gained momentum at the JNU. Elections in 2019 and 2024 serve as examples of this. In the 2019 presidential election, the left-wing alliance earned 2313 votes out of 5700 total votes polled. The ABVP alone garnered 1128 votes. Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) followed with 1121 votes. The votes cast for other parties are not included here. But this time, the left-wing alliance won the presidency. It earned 2598 votes from a total of 5656 votes cast. The ABVP alone garnered 1676 votes. However, BAPSA garnered 398 votes this time, down from 1121 in 2019. This demonstrates that BAPSA supported the left-wing coalition in line with the changed scenario on campus. Another aspect becomes obvious when examining the election results for the position of General Secretary, which BAPSA gained after the election committee had disqualified the Left Alliance candidate.
The BAPSA candidate for the position of General Secretary, who garnered 398 votes in the presidential election, received 2887 votes in this category. ABVP earned 1961 votes. The margin between the ABVP and the left-wing BAPSA coalition is 926 votes. In the 2019 election, the Left Alliance earned 2518 votes, the ABVP 1355 votes, and the BAPSA 1232 votes. The gap in votes between the ABVP and the Left Alliance was 1163. However, despite the covert partnership between BAPSA and Leftwing, the ABVP obtained more votes, reducing the vote gap to 926.
BAPSA did not submit a candidate for vice president in 2019, and the Leftwing Alliance earned 3365 votes. The ABVP got 1335 votes. This time, the Leftwing Alliance got 2409 votes. ABVP alone garnered 1482 votes. BAPSA also garnered 611 votes here. It is evident where the remaining votes were moved. A similar thing happened in the election of the joint secretary. The Left Alliance earned 2574 votes and won the seat. ABVP got 2066 votes. Again, BAPSA garnered just 539 votes. Collaboration was also obvious in other centres. There were no left-wing candidates for the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance (CSLG). The fight was between the ABVP and the BAPSA.
Left-wing students voted for the BAPSA candidate and won. The ABVP also gained 12 of 42 seats among councillors from each Centre. In conclusion, the outcome of this election demonstrates that groups such as SFI and AISA are willing to collaborate with any organisation to win elections. The politics of CPM and CPI leaders, who are part of CM MK Stalin’s kitchen cabinet in Tamil Nadu and the Congress at the national level, are being adopted by respective student organisations at JNU. Previously, organisations such as SFI, AISA, DSF, and AISF fought each other. Today, however, they are united in their opposition to the ABVP.
Furthermore, BAPSA, which claims to represent Dalit-Muslim students, has been backing the Left from the outside while betraying the whole student community. But today, the ABVP is battling alone and expanding on campus. When discussing a Left coalition, don’t assume that these four left organisations are the only ones. They are also successful in gaining the backing of several communist-Islamist organisations that promote false propaganda and narratives. That would be more than thirty. In short, the ABVP has fared well, battling over 35 organisations and gaining almost 45 per cent of the votes.
Leftist student organisations are protesting for reintroducing the old entrance examination system at JNU. In the old system, questionnaires were prepared, and JNU teachers evaluated answers. Nobody should instruct the communists how to use such a method to get access to the university. However, starting in 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the entrance exam. With this, students from all states and all sections of the country have started reaching the campus. These students are prioritising studies over anti-national activities. Therefore, this year, in the first election after 2019, the ABVP made gains compared to previous years. The number of votes for the Left Party is declining. More than 500 research students admitted based on the previous admission exams will leave campus in the coming years, reducing the power of communist student organisations and strengthening the ABVP. The ABVP is the leading student recruited through the new entrance examination. Therefore, the ABVP is also ahead in the new centres established after 2018. Therefore, the left wing will have to increase the number of student organisations in the existing left coalition in the coming years. Therefore, in the coming years, the golden age of the ABVP, which is contesting alone today, will begin in the JNU in the coming elections. But the ABVP could have won here in 2015 if it had reversed the extreme terror methods of the Left organisations in Kerala and Bengal. However, even after ten years, since 2014, the ABVP has been functioning democratically on campus.
Kanhaiya Kumar of the AISF is a leader who came to national attention through the JNU. Back then, he was the leader of the anti-national movements on campus. But now he is the all-India leader of the Congress. Those who worked with him are still struggling with many cases. Some have become MLAs, including in Kerala. In short, both the Congress and the Communists have deceived their student followers and active student workers. As a result, the Congress student group NSUI is likewise seeing a decline on campus. It could not receive more than 500 votes in any contested seats. Another student who spearheaded the anti-national movement in JNU was Shehla Rasheed from Kashmir. The changes in Kashmir have made her a Modi supporter. Her statement that “Modi is a selfless man working in the national interest” was a big blow to the communist propagandists at JNU.
During this period, more than 20 nationalist organisations have established themselves in JNU. 57 out of 116 students participated in the 2023 Special Pradham Siksha Varg (ITC) conducted by the Ramakrishnapuram Vibhag of the RSS. More than 100 students participated in full Ganvesh in the first-ever Vijaya Dashami Pad Sanchalanam held on the campus in 2023. Aside from that, thousands of students participate in numerous cultural events organised by nationalist organisations. In short, the Left’s win at JNU is temporary. It is not the overall mood in the country. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Stalin, and the Ministers and Communist Workers of Kerala and Bengal are unaware of the realities on campus. Nationalist organisations will prove that JNU will one day become Tripura, Bengal.
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