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More to JNU poll outcome than meets the eye

By Anjali Malhotra

NEW DELHI OCT. 25. While Jawaharlal Nehru University here predictably continues to keep to the `Left' after the latest student union elections, there is more to the new political configuration than meets the eye.

It may have been the All India Students' Association (AISA) who popped the surprise on Tuesday even as the Students' Federation of India-All India Students' Federation (SFI-AISF) combine managed to retain three of the four posts in the central panel and a majority in the Executive Council, but this in no way settles the tussle for the second place.

The main opposition to the combine till last year, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, confesses to be "shocked'' over its performance. While the ABVP presidential candidate lost the second position to the National Students' Union of India candidate, Prem Chand, by a mere two votes, the NSUI managed to emerge as a real contender for the post of joint secretary. It is only in the battle for the post of vice-president that the ABVP candidate, Dhananjay Singh, secured the second position.

Also, of the three major schools - School of International Studies, School of Social Sciences and School of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies - the ABVP this time round, unlike in previous years, has only managed to secure one councillor's post from SL. The NSUI standing, on the other hand, is boosted by the one seat it managed to secure in the SIS councillor panel.

According to party leaders, the fraction within ABVP a few months ago and the consequent boost to the National Students' Union of India are possible factors for the decline. "Our party was being viewed as a wreaking party. So there was a lot of transfer of votes to the NSUI,'' says an ABVP leader.

Though AISA managed to bag a seat in the central panel with Mona Das winning as general secretary, the comeback appears to be more of "slight revival'' rather than a serious opposition. While Mona secured thumping 1,064 votes, the remaining AISA candidates were fourth in the race with the votes ranging from Inteshar Ahmad - presidential candidate - securing 481 and Sanjeev Kumar - joint secretary candidate - securing 291.

In the Executive Council, AISA has managed to secure two councillor posts - one from SIS and SSS each - compared to one last year.

For the SFI-AISF combine, this is a case of "understanding'' between the different parties. "There was no real challenge from AISA in the battle for other posts. So there has to be an amount of opportunism involved. And yes, the anti-incumbency factor must have acted as well. We made some mistakes last year but we hope to rectify them this year,'' says the SFI-AISF spokesperson, Albeena.

While NSUI may have challenged ABVP's second position on the campus, the results reflect that students prefer an alternative from within the Left itself. "What the results do show is that the anti-incumbency factor reflected within the Left itself - the main viable alternative for the Left is the Left itself. And JNU has retained its tradition,'' according to a JNU professor, Kamal Mitra Chenoy.

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