In JNU Election Loss, ABVP Celebrates 'Moral' Victory

New Delhi: The Left alliance may have swept the JNUSU polls, but rivals like the RSS-affiliated ABVP and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) say they have made inroads into its vote share.

The ABVP managed to come second in all four central panel posts -- president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary -- building on last year's two runner-up positions.

The party also consolidated its stronghold of the School of Sciences, from where its presidential candidate Nidhi Tripathi secured more votes than any other candidate.

Saket Bahuguna, the ABVP's national media convener, said that despite the victory of the Left alliance (AISA, SFI, DSF) in all four seats, the ABVP is now the single largest student organisation in JNU.

"Now, with more than 4,000 votes together on four central panel posts, the ABVP is the single largest student organisation in JNU. We also won 10 councillor seats, which is the highest for a single organisation. The ABVP swept almost all seats in the Science schools."

Presidential candidate Tripathi said it was a huge moral victory for the RSS student wing. "Three parties had to come together to fight us, which shows that we have considerable strength."

The supporters of BAPSA, which was pushed to the third place after the final results were announced, considered it a victory as they were able to increase the voter base as a single unit.

BAPSA presidential candidate Shabana Ali said she was expecting more votes, but is satisfied with the numbers as the party has grown a strong base in the campus. The BAPSA also pledged to bridge the gap between common students who don't have any political affiliation and the JNUSU.

JNU is known to be a leftist bastion. Independent presidential candidate Farooque M D Alam, who stole the show in the presidential debate, managed to get three more votes (419) than AISF candidate Aparajitha Raja.

The CPI student wing is not part of the Left alliance. Congress-affiliated NSUI put up a a poor show with its presidential candidate Vrishnika Singh getting just 82 votes. A total of 127 NOTA votes were polled for the president post.

The ABVP's Ankit Roy, who was allegedly involved in a "scuffle" with missing student Najeeb, came third for the councillor post of the School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies.