New JNU president rubbishes ABVP’s ‘good show’ claims

“This election was fought in the context of acche din, and ideal days of governance by (PM) Narendra Modi. The fact that the youth voted in large numbers for us should tell proponents of right-wing politics what the youth has to say. In JNU at least, there is no revival of the ABVP or its politics,” he said.

He blamed the “unfortunate attitude of the Left groups” as a reason for ABVP’s “consolidation” in the recently concluded elections. “When small Left groups form an alliance canvassing on the back of a preposterous logic that ABVP can only be defeated if AISA can be defeated, this is bound to happen.

The Left groups frittered away their own voteshare by stooping to the level of the right-wing party,” he said.

Retaining its hold over the prestigious students’ body, AISA won the positions of president, vice-president, joint secretary and general secretary, defeating candidates from ABVP, NSUI, Students’ Federation of India and Left Progressive Front. This year, the Left groups got together to form the Left Progressive Front, an alliance between the Democratic Students’ Federation and the All India Students’ Federation.

However, in the Left-dominated JNU campus, surprisingly the ABVP stood second in two of the four central panel seats — vice-president and general secretary.

ABVP claimed to have finally made inroads into the Left-dominated JNUSU polls, stating that the party’s vote share had increased by 100 per cent this election.

“We have not only swept DUSU polls, but have also been able to make a mark at the red bastion. The party’s votes have increased by 100 per cent, suggesting that students of the university may finally be ready to explore a different political thought,” Saket Bahuguna, Delhi state secretary, ABVP, said.