Left alliance, ABVP name candidates for Nov 4 JNUSU polls

The Left alliance has fielded Aditi Mishra, a PhD scholar from the School of International Studies, for president, while ABVP has nominated Vikas Patel for the post

Ahead of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections on November 4, student organisations have announced their candidates, while the election committee on Wednesday released the final list of nominations after the withdrawal window closed.

The election committee said in the central panel, around 30% of nominations are from women. About 25% of the school councillor nominations are also from women. (HT Archive)

The Left alliance, comprising comprises the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), has fielded Aditi Mishra, a PhD scholar from the School of International Studies, for president.

Kizhakoot Gopika, a PhD scholar, is contesting for vice-president; Sunil Yadav, also a PhD scholar, is contesting for general secretary; and Danish Ali, a PhD scholar, is the alliance’s candidate for joint secretary.

Presidential candidate Aditi Mishra said, “The Left has always stood for students and the representation of their rights. We will continue that fight, whether it is for the merit-cum-means scholarship, hostels for PhD students, or better library infrastructure.”

For the central panel posts of president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has nominated Vikas Patel, Tanya Kumari, Rajeshwar Kant Dubey and Anuj, respectively.

Vikas Patel, who has been actively associated with ABVP since 2014, is a third-year PhD research scholar at the university. Vice-presidential candidate Tanya Kumari is pursuing a PhD in Sociology from the Centre for the Study of Social Systems. Dubey is also a research scholar, while Anuj is pursuing a PhD in Physics.

Arun Srivastava, chief campaign coordinator of ABVP JNU, said, “Last year, ABVP made history by winning the post of joint secretary and turned that responsibility into a continuous struggle for student welfare. Our goal is to strengthen JNU academically, ensure the safety of female students, and make quality education affordable for all.”

Meanwhile, the election committee said there are 9,043 eligible voters this time.

“In the central panel, around 30% of nominations are from women. About 25% of the school councillor nominations are also from women,” the committee added.