AISA takes hold of JNU this year

Nov 05: ‘Lal Salaam’ echoes in the air of JNU

Ruling JNU politics for almost 20 years CPM affiliated Students Federation of India (SFI) was dashed to the ground in JNU Polls by All India Students Association (AISA), a wing of CPI (M-L) by winning all the four key posts of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union which is President, Vice President, General Secretary and Joint General Secretary.

CPM and CPI affiliates SFI and AISF failed to secure single seat in the central panel. This is for the first time that any other organisation has come into power sidelining SFI-AISF combine. AISA’s candidate Sandeep Singh was announced as the President of the union while Shefali Shekhar grabbed the post of Vice president. Pallavi Deka and Mobeen Alam were declared as General Secretary and joint General Secretary respectively.

Youth For Equality maintaining the same position as the last year finished second in the post of President and General Secretary as Babita Sharma, its presidential candidate polled 924 votes against 1218 those of Sandeep Singh. YFE’s another candidate for the post of Gen-Sec posed a challenge before AISA’s candidate Pallavi Deka who won the election just by 98 votes.

Reasons behind this debacle of the left combine are being cited the mishandling of the issues in Nandigram and Singur, which saw unprecedented violence and Rizwanaur Rehman case by parties with which they are affiliated.

AISA candidates said that this victory shows the solidarity of the students with the victims of Nandigram and Singur and it is a mandate for the rights of students and workers, a mandate against the casteist forces and displacement in the name of development and also against the Indo-US nuclear deal.

AISA victorious candidates also told that education and employment for all will be their agenda. They will also demand for health, library and hostel facilities for students.

AISA also managed to secure 6 posts of councilors while Youth For Equality won 9 posts.

After 1989 this is the first case when left combine could not make place in the central panel. In 1989 it was defeated by the then radical left party Students’ Solidarity.