JNU is gearing up for elections after a gap of four years, with approximately eighty thousand voters in the university. An election committee has finally been formed for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union’s (JNUSU) elections. The notification for this 42-member committee was issued by JNU’s Dean of Students, Manuradha Choudhary.
Shailendra Kumar, a Ph.D. student from the School of International Studies, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Election Committee. He told The Sunday Guardian, “We will start preparations for conducting elections on Monday and have brief meetings with the stakeholders.” Kumar added that we will ensure free and fair elections in JNU, complying with the guidelines of the Lyngdoh Committee.
For JNU elections, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Shantishree Dhulipudi has appointed Dr. Anamika Gulati as Chief Observer, who will oversee election process. Additionally, 29 observers from different hostels, including the provost, have also been appointed. Candidates can provide information to the observer in case of any complaints or issues, allowing them to report to the dean-students.
JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh and Joint Secretary Danish were elected to conduct General Body Meetings (GBMs) for all schools to form election committee. Under their supervision, GBMs were held for all schools, during which chairperson and members of election committee were chosen.
Last week, during the GBM of the School of Languages, a violent clash occurred between Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and leftist groups including All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI), resulting in injuries to some students. ABVP accused Left groups of conducting GBM undemocratically, while the latter claimed that ABVP was trying to disrupt the elections.
The administration has urged the committee to strictly follow the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee while conducting the elections.