Supporters of the United Left and other students during an election event on the JNU campus.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
NEW DELHI
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections are scheduled to be held on November 4, with results expected on November 6, according to a tentative poll schedule issued on Thursday.
The announcement follows days of disruptions and heated exchanges between the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Left groups during the General Body Meetings (GBMs) over selection of the Election Committee (EC). The outgoing JNUSU has three office-bearers from the United Left and one from the ABVP.
The last election was held in April this year, delayed due to the pandemic, which had thrown the academic calendar off track.
Fresh alliance
With the university now realigning its schedule, elections are being held sooner than usual. In the previous polls, the United Left split into two camps. According to sources, efforts are under way this time for a fresh alliance between the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), seeking to consolidate Left forces in their traditional JNU stronghold.
Meanwhile, the ABVP, which won the joint secretary post in the last election, its first major win in a decade, hopes to expand its presence in the union this year.
As per the tentative schedule, the process begins on Friday with the display of the tentative voters’ list. Nomination forms will be issued on Saturday, and filing begins on Monday. After scrutiny and withdrawal, the final list of candidates will be displayed on Tuesday.
School-level GBMs are slated for Wednesday to Friday next week, followed by the highly anticipated presidential debate on November 2.
Repeated clashes
This year’s GBMs, which typically conclude within a week, stretched from October 9 to 21 amid repeated confrontations. Outgoing JNUSU general secretary Munteha Fatima alleged that the ABVP attempted to stall the election process. “Even though we met quorum and voting requirements, ABVP kept accusing us of being undemocratic because the campus atmosphere is largely anti-ABVP,” she said.
Responding to it, ABVP’s joint secretary Vaibhav Meena accused the Left of manipulating EC selections “in undemocratic ways” to ensure “their people” were chosen.
Published – October 24, 2025 01:44 am IST
