New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) polls are slated for September 8 this year, while the Delhi University Students’ Union (Dusu) elections are scheduled for September 12.
The JNUSU election process started on Sunday, with a tentative list of voters being displayed. The nominations will be filed on Tuesday and the final list of candidates will be displayed on Wednesday.
Last year, both the DUSU and JNUSU elections were held on September 9.
The presidential debate will be held on September 6 on the campus and the results of the election will be declared on 11 of the same month.
One of the agendas of RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was to focus on “commitment to national integration and unity” and to “expose subversive anti-national forces”.
The ABVP's other key agendas include rejection of 100 per cent viva-voce and establishment of placement cells in the varsity. Last year, to defeat the threat posed by the right-wing ABVP, several left-leaning parties came together to hold on to their bastion with AISA and SFI candidates grabbing the four JNUSU posts.
This year too, several left-leaning student organisations have given a call for unity. The Students’ Federation of India has said that while last year the JNU student community was at the receiving end of an ideological attack post February 9 incident, this year the attacks have become more direct.
“It was institutional in nature. We witnessed unprecedented seat cuts, scuttling of reservation, disappearance of a student and criminalisation of student dissent,” the SFI said. It feels polls are important as the JNU is at crossroads and the path the student movement pursues at this juncture will be critical.
The student organisations appealed to all progressive organisations on the campus to consider forming a broader progressive unity in the upcoming polls.
