JNU polls: Varsity again braces for ‘9’

NEW DELHI: “They live here in this JNU. They eat in this country and still they want to destroy our India. Now they have been exposed. Everybody knows who shouts slogan against India. They will be defeated,” ABVP’s presidential candidate Jahanwi ends her speech before a gathering at Chandrabhaga Hostel of JNU and her supporters starts shouting slogans- 9 ka badla 9 ko lenge, ABVP panel ko vote karenge. Exactly after seven months of the '9th February' event, JNU warms up for another 9, the JNUSU voting day is 9th of September.  The alleged anti national slogans of February 9 and nationalism are at the core of this election. It is very crucial election as JNU students will elect Kanhaiya Kumar’s successor who was jailed for 'anti national' slogans. This election is being closely observed not just in JNU but outside the campus too. In this election, unprecedentedly, two major left organization All India Students Association (AISA) and Students Federation of India (SFI) joined hands to form a left alliance. AISA is student organization of Communist Party of India (ML) and SFI’s parent party is CPM. It’s a replay of Bihar formula where two long time rivals Nitish Kumar and Lulu came together to defeat ‘communal forces’, i.e. BJP. Here in JNU the left alliance comes together against ABVP to ‘save JNU’. “They say #shutdownJNU, we say #FightBack JNU” states a poster of AISA-SFI. AISA’s Mohit Kumar Pandey is contesting for President’s post. It’s an irony that after 2006 AISA strongly made Tapasi Malik’s case against SFI during election campaigns. In December 2006, during Singur anti land acquisition movement, a 16 years old girl Tapasi Malik was allegedly raped and burned alive. AISA blamed CPM and SFI’s ‘goons’ for the heinous crime. Now after ten years, in 2016 AISA’s leader Anmol Ratan was arrested in rape case and now ‘rape’ is no issue for both the students organization, communalism is. ABVP, the students’ wing of RSS is working hard to exploit this opportunity to dent in the left hegemony of JNU, albeit last year ABVP won joint Secretary Post in JNUSU. Anti National slogans and Anmol Ratan rape are the core issues against left ABVP is sailing on. Prof Kamal Mitra Chenoy of School of International studies doesn’t consider ABVP major threat to left votes. Left is ahead than ABVP, says Pro Chenoy. AISA is presently strongest left organization in JNU.  AISA emerged in early 1990s and since then made a significant presence in JNU even stronger than SFI. SFI had a trauma few years back in 2012 when a faction Democratic Students Federation (DSF) emerged out of it. In 2012 CPM backed president candidacy of Pranab Mukharjee. A group of SFI opposed this decision that was later expelled. They formed a new organization called DSF. DSF and AISF didn’t join the left alliance of AISA-SFI formally, although they are backing it. That’s why Kanhaiya Kumar’s AISF didn’t field any candidate in this election. This time campus is clearly polarized between Left and Right. “This JNU election is going to be very interesting. You have two major left parties in alliance and ABVP is also doing intense campaigning and the crisp is the BAPSA, which has emerged as third option which is of course against ABVP but at the same time critical of left” says Komal Singh, a PhD student from Kashmir. Deepak Bhaskar who has been closely observing JNUSU elections since last 6 years says, “ABVP has strengthened in the campus as the whole machinery of the government is backing it. There are students who live outside, who say they are getting calls from MPs of their area. But in the campus ABVP is certainly loosing if BAPSA will not gain. ABVP wants that BAPSA should gain.” BAPSA, the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association is also in fray in this election. BAPSA majorly constitutes Dalit and OBC students and claims to represent these communities. Sonpimple Rahul Punaram is BAPSA’s president candidate who comes from a poor family of Nagpur. BAPSA can be a game changer in this election. It can harm left alliance. “Whether ABVP wins or not I believe this depends on how many votes BAPSA gets. BAPSA has been eating away at AISA’s Dalit base which has been discontent and taken for granted for some years now” says Saib Bilaval who is pursuing Mphil in Modern History. Dilip C Mandal, a Phd Scholar and Dalit thinker observes, “This JNUSU election is historic opportunity for Bahujan politics to show its strong presence. It’s much more important than winning the election. It’s an opportunity to root in social democracy in the JNU campus. Half of the students in JNU are Bahujan(Dalit, OBC). Congress’s student wing NSUI seems out of scene. NSUI could never been main students organization in JNU. Albeit campaigning is in full swing, a lot is yet to happen. Presidential debate will be crucial for all candidates where they will express their ideas before the student community. Neutral students make their mind after presidential debate to cast their ballot on September 9.