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From Bihar polls to campus issues, JNUSU candidates face off in presidential debate

The campus votes on November 4, and results are likely on November 6.

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Nov 3, 2025 10:48 PM IST

The stage was set for the presidential debate, a long-followed tradition ahead of JNU’s student union elections. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

In the early hours of Monday, the lawns of Jhelum hostel at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were awash in colour: On one side were the red flags of the Left, now reunited after a year of division; in the middle, a saffron sea of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) supporters beat dholaks and to the right, a cluster of blue National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) flags rippled.

The stage was set for the presidential debate, a long-followed tradition ahead of JNU’s student union elections.

The first to speak was Aditi Mishra, presidential candidate of the United Left comprising the All India Students’ Association, Students’ Federation of India and Democratic Students’ Federation.

Chanting “Jai Bhim, Laal Salaam,” she hit out at the ABVP. “Their attack,” she said, “is not on individuals, but on the idea of India, on the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar.”

Her speech also addressed issues such as Palestine and Kashmir: “The ruling dispensation is attacking the very idea of India… We will continue to raise our voice for Palestine, for Kashmir’s statehood, for Ladakh’s environment and for the release of Sonam Wangchuk.”

On the National Education Policy, she said, “Our libraries have no journals, our labs have no equipment, and schools are being shut down…”

(Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

Vikash, the NSUI candidate, called for the release of jailed student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Meeran Haider, and said their incarceration as “an attack on dissent”.

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Attacking the Left and ABVP, he said, “The binary of Left and Right has robbed JNU of its real agenda: fellowships, research funding, hostel safety… The Left has destroyed the campus and the Right thrives on that destruction.”

He also referred to caste violence and joblessness, echoing the political mood spilling in from Bihar’s campaign trails. “In a campus where conversations this week swung easily between Gaza and Gaya, the fight for dignity and jobs cannot remain outside these walls,” he said.

When Vikas Patel, the ABVP candidate, took the mic, the air reverberated with chants from the Left and Right. “The campus is tired of Left politics. For 50 years they have ruled and ruined,” he said.

Patel also accused the Left of colluding with the administration, “sitting in the council and drinking tea with the Vice-Chancellor while claiming to fight for students”. He referred to lakhs of rupees in fines imposed under the Chief Proctor Office Manual, calling it proof of bias and the cost of defiance.

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“The same ideology that destroys villages in Chhattisgarh spreads poison on campuses under the guise of revolution… If anyone will raise the Tricolour here, it’s us,” he claimed, to chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

(Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

Then came Shinde Vijayalaxmi, the Progressive Students Association’s presidential candidate. Hitting out at the Chief Proctor’s Office manual, she “called it a symbol of surveillance, not safety”. “The students of JNU cannot be… silenced by the state.”

The campus votes on November 4, and results are likely on November 6. This year, while seven candidates are in the fray for the president’s post, three will fight it out for the vice-president’s post, and five each are vying for the posts of general secretary and joint secretary.

In the previous JNUSU election, Left-backed groups won three of the four central panel posts, while the ABVP secured the joint secretary’s post.

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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