New Delhi: The Left Unity — comprising of AISA, SFI, DSF, and AISF — won the central panel seats in JNUSU polls this year as the post of President, Vice-president, General Secretary and Joint Secretary were all bagged by the alliance. The newly elected president, Aishe Ghosh, talking to the Millennium Post after the poll announcement said: "This victory has been an uphill battle, with the High Court lifting the ban on Tuesday. It is a victory for the student mandate and not just me."
Ghosh of Students' Federation of India (SFI) was elected president of JNUSU with 2,313 votes defeating ABVP's contestant for the same post, Manish Jangid, by 1,185 votes.
Democratic Students' Federation candidate Saket Moon got 3,365 votes for the post of Vice-President, whereas his opponent from ABVP secured less than 2,000 votes.
The post of General Secretary was won by All India Students' Association's Satish Chandra Yadav, who got 2,518 votes, defeating ABVP's Sabareesh PA by more than a thousand votes.
Further, the new Joint Secretary of the students' union will be Md Danish of the All India Students' Federation, who defeated ABVP's Sumanta Kumar Sahu by almost 2,000 votes.
The much awaited victory came after the High Court lifted its ban — restricting the election commission from announcing the poll results — following the allegations of unfair representation made by students.
Lawyer Abhik Chimni who represented JNUSU in the Court on Tuesday said that the battle was not just about winning the 2019 elections but also attempts were made to nullify the JNUSU Constitution. "The writ petition filed by one of the students had a prayer that the JNUSU constitution be declared void. If that were to happen then JNU would cease to exist. Apart that, the other grievances were about the Election Commission not operating in compliance of the LCR," he added.
If the matter concerns the Election Commission then it should be taken up by the Grievance Redressal Cell (GRC). Finding no truth in the allegations the High Court disposed both allegations and lifted the ban on poll result announcement, the lawyer observed. "The last few days has not been easy for the young elected students. Shouting slogans and swaying the crowd in their favour was just tip of the ice berg. The constant pressure and interference from the opposition and various people on the campus made this election even more
demanding. Dean of Students, Umesh Kadam, not only harassed us but also pressured the Election Commission by giving them notice at 1 am in the night. This is not my victory alone. It is a victory for the
entire student body. We emerged victorious after going through so much."
A member of Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students' Organisation, Apeksha Priyadarshini, added, "The High Court order reversed its previous order — the ban on poll result announcement — this is exactly what we had anticipated. We knew
there is no truth in these frivolous allegations. It is an established fact that the Election Commission which is elected by the students carries out the election process according to the LCR. There is complete transparency and it is very visible for all to witness."