Sanjay Parate
The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on November 6th. Votes have been captured in EVMs for a few days. At the same time, the results of the Jawaharlal Nehru University student union elections, held on November 4th, have been released. The ABVP, which had dreamed of victory by relying on the power of the Modi government, has been defeated, and Left candidates from the Left Unity have won all four student union seats, three of which were held by women. The Left has truly championed the concept of women's empowerment. These elections featured approximately 40 panels, and numerous student organizations were involved, but the contest was narrowly focused on the ABVP and Left Unity. The student wing of the biggest opposition party Congress, NSUI, was nowhere in this contest.
JNU is an internationally renowned university, and therefore, events here attract global attention. This university is named after Jawaharlal Nehru. The Sanghi clique's hostility towards Nehru is well known, and so their grudge against this university is no secret. This university is considered a symbol of progressive, scientific, and free expression of thought. There is no national or international event that the JNU student community does not react to. Just as the "Idea of India" defines our country, the "Idea of JNU," in tandem with it, defines the uniqueness of this university. Just as the "Idea of India" is targeted by the Sanghi clique, efforts are being made to destroy the "Idea of JNU" as well. In this effort, the Sanghi gang has tried to malign this university as a center of learning where anti-national students have gathered, intent on dividing the country into many pieces. Through the Godi media, progressive and left-leaning students here have been portrayed as the "Tukde-Tukde Gang." Two students studying at this university — Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam — have been in jail for the past five years on charges of inciting violence during the Delhi riots. The Modi government has yet to file a charge sheet against them, and the courts flee during bail hearings. Clearly, this is a case of "state-sponsored repression."
The last JNU student union elections were held three years ago in 2022. The ABVP's candidate for the post of Joint Secretary was victorious, while the Left won three of the remaining four positions. As a result, the ABVP's representative in the student union consistently stood with the university management and administration, and the management refused to accept any legitimate demands of the student union majority. Taking advantage of this situation, the management abandoned elections altogether, and this time, only after intense pressure from the student community, and in the hope that the ABVP would gain an upper hand, did it hold these elections under duress. However, the ABVP's failure to secure any position is a significant blow to the Sanghi clique, despite the power of the government, the RSS organization, and the university administration being on its side and striving to ensure its victory at all costs.
The Left's victory is a result of its struggles on the JNU campus. Whether it's the issue of fee hikes, scholarship cuts, unemployment, and student rights, the campus has been vibrant with the struggles of Left organizations. The university administration is trying to eliminate these rights of the student community, and the ABVP, as a subsidiary of the Sanghi clique, has been supporting it. This has led to clashes between the red and saffron groups on the campus, culminating in police intervention with the support of the university administration. The Left's victory indicates that the JNU student community has not accepted the university administration's suppression of campus autonomy. This was a major election issue. The Left was supporting campus autonomy, and the ABVP's issue was the security of the campus from the Left, which it was trying to portray as a saffron nationalist. Therefore, as always, this election was also a struggle of ideology and in such difficult political circumstances, when the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country and the Constitution itself are in danger and when the country is facing an undeclared emergency, the student community of JNU has supported the Left ideology and the nationwide struggles of the Left.
Despite its best efforts, including the combined might of the government and administration, the Sanghi faction's support base does not exceed one-third of the JNU student community. In this election, a total of 5,802 students cast 23,208 votes for the four positions. Of these, 1,098 did not go to any candidate. If these votes are excluded, the total valid votes are 22,110. Of these, Left Unity received 9,126 votes (41.3%), while ABVP received 6,973 votes (31.5%). The remaining 6,011 (27.2%) votes belong to organizations and groups that cannot be categorized as right-wing. Left Unity leads ABVP by a margin of approximately 10%.
But this shouldn't underestimate the power of the Sanghi clique within JNU. After all, in the 2000 elections, its candidate won the presidential election, albeit by just one vote. This time, as before, several of its candidates won councilor positions.
Across the world, and in our country too, there is a struggle between the right and the left. Jawaharlal Nehru University is a symbol of this struggle in our country. As in other parts of the world, the victory of the left in the student union elections at JNU confirms that only a united left can successfully confront the right. The stronger this unity at the grassroots level, the greater the ideological challenge to the right.
A large proportion of students from Bihar study at JNU. Therefore, the Left's victory at JNU certainly foreshadows the results of the Bihar Assembly elections. If not, why would Amit Shah announce Nitish Kumar's re-election as Chief Minister? The Left's victory at JNU has dealt the same blow to the Modi-Shah-RSS trio as Mamdani's victory dealt Trump. Ultimately, only the Reds have the power to take down the saffron ideology by the horns. Today, JNU resounds with the slogans of Lal Salaam.
In his public meetings in Bihar, Yogi had asked : Where are the communists in the world? JNU is answering, "We are here." New York is answering, "We are here." Bihar is also going to answer, "We are here." The united response of the entire world is that the communists have not gone anywhere ; they are here, fighting alongside the common people, weaving the fabric of their bright future, defeating the forces of the right. November 14th is Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday, a day when the results of the Bihar elections will once again prove his relevance.
The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.
JNU is an internationally renowned university, and therefore, events here attract global attention. This university is named after Jawaharlal Nehru. The Sanghi clique's hostility towards Nehru is well known, and so their grudge against this university is no secret. This university is considered a symbol of progressive, scientific, and free expression of thought. There is no national or international event that the JNU student community does not react to. Just as the "Idea of India" defines our country, the "Idea of JNU," in tandem with it, defines the uniqueness of this university. Just as the "Idea of India" is targeted by the Sanghi clique, efforts are being made to destroy the "Idea of JNU" as well. In this effort, the Sanghi gang has tried to malign this university as a center of learning where anti-national students have gathered, intent on dividing the country into many pieces. Through the Godi media, progressive and left-leaning students here have been portrayed as the "Tukde-Tukde Gang." Two students studying at this university — Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam — have been in jail for the past five years on charges of inciting violence during the Delhi riots. The Modi government has yet to file a charge sheet against them, and the courts flee during bail hearings. Clearly, this is a case of "state-sponsored repression."
The last JNU student union elections were held three years ago in 2022. The ABVP's candidate for the post of Joint Secretary was victorious, while the Left won three of the remaining four positions. As a result, the ABVP's representative in the student union consistently stood with the university management and administration, and the management refused to accept any legitimate demands of the student union majority. Taking advantage of this situation, the management abandoned elections altogether, and this time, only after intense pressure from the student community, and in the hope that the ABVP would gain an upper hand, did it hold these elections under duress. However, the ABVP's failure to secure any position is a significant blow to the Sanghi clique, despite the power of the government, the RSS organization, and the university administration being on its side and striving to ensure its victory at all costs.
The Left's victory is a result of its struggles on the JNU campus. Whether it's the issue of fee hikes, scholarship cuts, unemployment, and student rights, the campus has been vibrant with the struggles of Left organizations. The university administration is trying to eliminate these rights of the student community, and the ABVP, as a subsidiary of the Sanghi clique, has been supporting it. This has led to clashes between the red and saffron groups on the campus, culminating in police intervention with the support of the university administration. The Left's victory indicates that the JNU student community has not accepted the university administration's suppression of campus autonomy. This was a major election issue. The Left was supporting campus autonomy, and the ABVP's issue was the security of the campus from the Left, which it was trying to portray as a saffron nationalist. Therefore, as always, this election was also a struggle of ideology and in such difficult political circumstances, when the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country and the Constitution itself are in danger and when the country is facing an undeclared emergency, the student community of JNU has supported the Left ideology and the nationwide struggles of the Left.
Despite its best efforts, including the combined might of the government and administration, the Sanghi faction's support base does not exceed one-third of the JNU student community. In this election, a total of 5,802 students cast 23,208 votes for the four positions. Of these, 1,098 did not go to any candidate. If these votes are excluded, the total valid votes are 22,110. Of these, Left Unity received 9,126 votes (41.3%), while ABVP received 6,973 votes (31.5%). The remaining 6,011 (27.2%) votes belong to organizations and groups that cannot be categorized as right-wing. Left Unity leads ABVP by a margin of approximately 10%.
But this shouldn't underestimate the power of the Sanghi clique within JNU. After all, in the 2000 elections, its candidate won the presidential election, albeit by just one vote. This time, as before, several of its candidates won councilor positions.
Across the world, and in our country too, there is a struggle between the right and the left. Jawaharlal Nehru University is a symbol of this struggle in our country. As in other parts of the world, the victory of the left in the student union elections at JNU confirms that only a united left can successfully confront the right. The stronger this unity at the grassroots level, the greater the ideological challenge to the right.
A large proportion of students from Bihar study at JNU. Therefore, the Left's victory at JNU certainly foreshadows the results of the Bihar Assembly elections. If not, why would Amit Shah announce Nitish Kumar's re-election as Chief Minister? The Left's victory at JNU has dealt the same blow to the Modi-Shah-RSS trio as Mamdani's victory dealt Trump. Ultimately, only the Reds have the power to take down the saffron ideology by the horns. Today, JNU resounds with the slogans of Lal Salaam.
In his public meetings in Bihar, Yogi had asked : Where are the communists in the world? JNU is answering, "We are here." New York is answering, "We are here." Bihar is also going to answer, "We are here." The united response of the entire world is that the communists have not gone anywhere ; they are here, fighting alongside the common people, weaving the fabric of their bright future, defeating the forces of the right. November 14th is Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday, a day when the results of the Bihar elections will once again prove his relevance.
The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment