Campus abuzz with slogans, drums as students queue up to vote in JNUSU polls

New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University campus came alive on Tuesday with beating of drums and slogans as students queued up to cast their votes in the keenly contested students' union elections, which will decide the next central panel and school councillors.

Polling began at 9 am and was supposed to continue till 5:30 pm, with a break from 1 pm to 2:30 pm. Students who were still in line are being allowed to vote past the end time. The results will be announced on November 6, according to the JNUSU election committee.

A total of 20 candidates are in the fray for the four key central panel posts -- president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary. Around 9,043 students are eligible to vote this year.

The contest, often viewed as a reflection of national ideological undercurrents, is primarily between the Left Unity and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The Left Unity, comprising the All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF), has fielded Aditi Mishra for president, Kizhakoot Gopika Babu for vice-president, Sunil Yadav for general secretary and Danish Ali for joint secretary.

The ABVP's panel features Vikas Patel, Tanya Kumari, Rajeshwar Kant Dubey and Anuj for the posts.

While the ABVP has campaigned on themes of "performance and nationalism," the Left bloc has focused on "inclusion, accessibility and student welfare."

"The Left unity will win all four central panel seats," Aishe Ghosh, a former JNUSU president, told PTI as she campaigned outside a polling booth.

Although voter turnout was modest in the morning, queues grew longer in the afternoon as students, many of whom were first-time voters, arrived with their ID cards to participate in what they described as a festival of democracy.

"Until now, I had only heard about the JNU elections. Witnessing them for the first time feels special. It's vibrant and serious at the same time," said Aakansha, a 20-year-old undergraduate student.

A postgraduate student from Kolkata said, "It feels like a celebration. In my previous university, there were no student union polls. Here, it's like a grand festival of democracy."

Opinions among voters were divided.

Mahendra, a 25-year-old doctoral student, said, "The Left-affiliated groups at least raise our issues and protest when needed. Even with limited powers, they make the administration listen."

However, others sought a change.

"The Left has been at the helm for years, but many campus problems remain the same -- from library shortages to leaking roofs," said Sunil. "We want a union that focuses more on JNU's own issues rather than global politics."

Last year, AISA's Nitish Kumar won the president's post, while ABVP's Vaibhav Meena secured the joint secretary position, ending a decade-long drought for the right-wing group and signalling what it called "a historic shift" in JNU's campus politics.

As polling continued into the evening, the festive buzz on campus showed no signs of fading. The outcome, expected later this week, will reveal whether the Left retains its hold or the ABVP builds on its growing footprint in JNU's political landscape.