JNU students union poll date likely to clash with DU elections

For the third time in a row, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is planning to hold its student union polls on September 11 which is the same day as the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. 

While no official announcement of the date has been made so far, officials say that the students have started making preparations as per the given date.

“The elections will be held on the same date as DUSU to stay synchronised. We are trying to keep the two election dates in sync so that student wings can coordinate their rallies and the results of one election don’t impact the other poll,” an official privy to the poll process said.

JNUSU is the representative body of the students in the varsity. The polls have been keenly contested over decades.

The poll pattern at JNU, however, differs from that of Delhi University. Besides the routine campaigning, the candidates in JNU are also supposed to make speeches about their agenda followed by a round of questions at the “Presidential debate”.

The night-long event which is conducted in the style of US Presidential debate is a <g data-gr-id="28">sought after</g> <g data-gr-id="35">affair</g> and also a deciding factor for the union elections.

“As per rules, the current students’ union is supposed to present a report in the General Body meeting and handover the union. The GBM will be held sometime in next week which will set the poll process in motion with the appointment of chief election commissioner along with <g data-gr-id="43">constitution</g> of an election body,” JNUSU President Ashutosh Kumar said. The name of the CEC is proposed by the JNUSU and has to be unanimously accepted by the election body, members of which are selected in the general body meetings (GBM) of various schools in the varsity.

Left-backed All India Students’ Association (AISA) had swept the JNUSU polls last year bagging all the top four positions, including the President’s post, for the second consecutive year.

In a first, the Election Committee had also introduced None of the Above (NOTA) option. Digital voting, which was also introduced for the first time, was widely used by visually-impaired students. The computers had an interactive HTML portal which recorded students’ choices.