Left Unity sweeps JNUSU polls, defeats RSS-backed ABVP
New Delhi: The Left Unity on Thursday retained its firm hold over Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) with a decisive victory in all four central panel posts of the students’ union elections, reaffirming its long-standing dominance on the campus.
The alliance comprising the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) swept the polls, defeating the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in each category.
Aditi Mishra of the Left alliance was elected president after polling 1,937 votes, defeating ABVP’s Vikas Patel, who secured 1,488 votes—a margin of 449. Kizhakoot Gopika Babu claimed the vice-president’s post with a substantial lead, garnering 3,101 votes against Tanya Kumari of ABVP, who managed 1,787.
For the general secretary position, Sunil Yadav edged past ABVP’s Rajeshwar K Dubey by 104 votes, winning 2,005 to Dubey’s 1,901. Danish Ali of the Left alliance comfortably secured the joint secretary post with 2,083 votes, while ABVP’s Anuj Damara trailed at 1,797.
This year’s election saw 9,043 eligible voters, with a 67 per cent turnout — slightly below the 70 per cent recorded in the previous polls. Voting day witnessed vibrant scenes across the campus, as students queued up outside hostels and schools amid campaign songs, slogans and drumbeats.
The outcome marks a reversal of fortunes for the ABVP, which had regained a foothold in the central panel last year when Vaibhav Meena won the joint secretary position, ending the group’s decade-long drought. Before Meena’s win, ABVP’s last central panel victory was in 2015 when Saurabh Sharma secured the joint secretary post, breaking a 14-year gap. The organisation’s only presidential triumph came in 2000–01, when Sandeep Mahapatra became JNUSU president.
Political observers within the university noted that the Left Unity’s cohesive campaign and grassroots mobilisation across hostels and departments contributed to its sweeping win. Analysts also viewed the outcome as a reflection of wider ideological battles unfolding in India’s academic spaces.
As the new panel prepares to assume office, president Aditi Mishra and her team are expected to prioritise pressing student concerns such as hostel shortages, mental health support, and administrative transparency. “Our focus will remain on making JNU an inclusive space where every voice matters,” Mishra said in her closing remarks.
With this clean sweep, the Left Unity has once again consolidated its political influence in JNU, a university long regarded as a hub of debate, dissent and student activism.
