The upcoming JNU Students’ Union elections will see the All India Students’ Federation, to which former president Kanhaiya Kumar belonged, joining the Left Unity alliance. Jayant Kumar — once a close aide of Kanhaiya and who recently resigned from the organisation — will contest for the post of president from the Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal. Besides the Left panel, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the National Students’ Union of India and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association are fielding full panels. Two independent candidates are also contesting for president. The Left alliance materialised in 2016, post the February 9 sloganeering incident. This year, all four Left organisations will be fighting for one post each: AISA for president, DSF for vice-president, SFI for secretary and AISF for joint secretary. Compulsory attendance emerged as a major poll issue for all organisations. Speaking at a press conference in the campus Wednesday, Left Unity panel’s presidential candidate N Sai Balaji said, “If voted to power again, our struggle for the reinstatement of GSCASH and against fee hike will continue. We also want a separate disability cell.” ABVP’s Lalit Pandey attacked the Left-led JNUSU and said they had failed to address students’ issues, while BAPSA’s presidential candidate Thallapelli Praveen attacked both the Left and the Right.
