Ballots, banners, belief: Left unity sweeps JNUSU polls, reaffirms grip on citadel

New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) The heart of Jawaharlal Nehru University beats red once more. The Left Unity -- a coalition of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) -- has swept the students’ union elections, reaffirming its enduring hold over a campus that has long symbolised ideological conviction and spirited dissent.

The alliance’s candidates -- Aditi Mishra (President), Kizhakoot Gopika Babu (Vice-President), Sunil Yadav (General Secretary) and Danish Ali (Joint Secretary) -- secured emphatic wins over the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) panel of Vikas Patel, Tanya Kumari, Rajeshwar Kant Dubey, and Anuj.

This year's election recorded a 67 per cent voter turnout, a slight dip from 70 per cent in 2024-25 and 73 per cent in 2023-24 -- the highest in the last decade. Around 9,043 students were eligible to vote, according to the university’s election committee.

The campus buzzed with the familiar rhythm of democracy as drums, daphlis and slogans echoed through hostels and school corridors. Students lined up in long queues and discussed manifestos and memories of past elections, as they cast their votes to decide the university's new central panel and school councillors.

For the Left, this victory represents more than just another term in office -- it marks a moment of reunion and revival.

AISA and SFI had contested separately last year, a division that helped the ABVP clinch the joint secretary’s post with Vaibhav Meena’s victory — the outfit’s first central panel win in a decade.

That 2024–25 result was hailed by the ABVP as a “historic shift” in JNU’s political landscape, rekindling hopes of a rightward resurgence. It followed a long gap since 2015, when Saurabh Sharma became the first ABVP candidate in 14 years to win a central panel seat, also as joint secretary.

Before that, the ABVP’s only presidential victory was in 2000-01 when Sandeep Mahapatra broke through the Left’s dominance. For most of JNU’s history, however, the Left has held sway — both ideologically and electorally.

Since 2015, its constituent groups have contested together under the banner of United Left, a formation that has outlasted political rifts and generational shifts.

“Every election at JNU is not just about power; it's a dialogue about what politics should mean,” said a PhD student, reflecting on the outcome.

Still, the balance of campus politics has been shifting. The ABVP, with its themes of performance and nationalism, has expanded its base beyond its traditional support, while smaller organisations like the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), Progressive Students’ Association (PSA), and Chhatra RJD continue to draw students around identity-based and social justice issues.

In this evolving landscape, the Left’s victory signals both continuity and challenge -- a reaffirmation of ideals amid an atmosphere of competing visions.

JNU's elections have long been seen as a barometer of India’s youth politics. Over the decades, its students’ union has produced leaders who went on to shape national politics — including Sitaram Yechury, Vijoo Krishnan, Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Syed Naseer Hussain and Kanhaiya Kumar.

Even as voter turnout dipped slightly this year, the spirit of campus democracy appeared undiminished. In JNU, where debates spill from classrooms to dhabas and political posters outnumber advertisements, every election remains a reminder that ideas still matter.

With the Left Unity back in full force, the message from JNU is clear: ballots may change hands, banners may fade, but belief endures -- and the Left marches on. PTI MHS RHL