The Hindu : New Delhi News : JNU poll campaign in top gear

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Wednesday, Nov 08, 2006
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New Delhi

JNU poll campaign in top gear

Staff Reporter

Stage set for the presidential debate

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University was geared up for the last lap of the election campaign for the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) on Tuesday night with the stage set for the presidential debate. Expected to be a longer-than-usual night on the campus, students and political activists were getting ready for the most anticipated moment in the JNUSU election process.

"There are 12 presidential candidates this time, so we are restricting the time limit for each speaker to 10 minutes. This was decided at the all-party meeting held earlier on Tuesday evening. It will be an all-night affair,'' said election committee chairperson Netajee Abhinandan. While these elections saw reservation and the deep-rooted prejudices being hotly debated on campus with Youth For Equality (YFE) standing for JNUSU elections, it is not the first time that JNU has been at the centre of the controversial reservation issue.

A similar situation was seen on the campus during the peak of the Mandal Commission controversy. "There was OBC written on the door of every Left activist in Mahanadi Hostel. People didn't sit together,'' said a former JNU student. Times might have changed and the politics of division might not play out the same way as it did in the past, but the entry of YFE will definitely have an effect on the votes.

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