'PhD wallah', minority voices & a Right-wing twist: Welcome JNU's new student union leaders

The closely contested Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union Election (JNUSU) witnessed the Left front—All India Students Association (AISA) and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF)—occupy all three seats. It was also the comeback of the Right as the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) got the joint secretary seat.

AISA's Nitish Kumar, referred to as 'PhD wallah' by the students, defeated the JNUSU president with 1,702 votes. The 26-year-old third-year PhD student of the Centre for Political Studies is from the OBC community and hails from a farmer family in Sheikhpura, Bihar. Speaking to ThePrint in an interview, Kumar continued that his backings and lack of opportunities took him into politics. "Since there was no school and infrastructure in my village, I have been living outside since I was 7 years old," he explained.

At JNU, he began his political journey by becoming part of AISA in 2021. Part of the biggest issues he has raised is the dilapidated infrastructure of the university. "The first thing we would like to do is all the ACs in the library to bring some relief to the students during this heat. Wherever there is an issue of infrastructure, in hostels, classes, we will set that as a priority in the first month," Kumar told ThePrint.

He also vowed to intensify the effort to bring back the JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE), a longstanding demand of a number of student groups.

Reacting to the victory of ABVP, Kumar said, "I want to appeal to them not to make the same mistake that they made in 2015-16, when they initiated a 'Shut Down JNU' movement. If they try something of the sort again, the students who have brought them to power will eliminate them within no time.".

Asked to inquire from her about the Left force division prior to the elections, Kumar stated, "We struggled against ABVP fascists as a United Front Left for nearly 10 years since 2016. We have an anti-fascist alliance.".

"But, before these elections, SFI never understood what fascism is. Fascism has not yet arrived to them in Modi-Shah BJP. We from AISA are absolutely certain without any doubt that fascism has already arrived," he added further.

United Left Split earlier this year united AISA and DSF under one united ticket to battle, while the alliances consisted of forming alliances by AISF, SFI, BAPSA, and PSA.

Manisha—Vice-President, JNUSU

DSF's Manisha, whose last name is not mentioned under local custom here to grant an unmarried person like her a mere name, voted into Vice-President at 1,150. She is third year of Chinese Studies research school as well as from Haryana state, i.e., a Bhawar village of Sonipat district.

Manisha, of DSF, who was voted in for the vice president position in the central panel. | Kartikay Chaturvedi | ThePrint

Since being a Dalit herself, she has always remained firm on student rights and social justice matters. "I have no hesitation in saying that I am a Dalit," she told ThePrint.

When she assumed office, Manisha declared, "The first thing on my agenda is the reversal of the cuts in lab and library budgets and addressing infrastructural issues."

She also condemned vigorously what she called the "tahansahi farman" (dictatorial order) of the JNU administration imposing enormous fines of Rs 10,000 or Rs 20,000 on agitating students. "We will resist these anti-student policies," she declared.

DSF's Munteha Fatima is elected general secretary. | Kartikay Chaturvedi | ThePrint

Munteha Fatima, 28, who was from DSF, secured the general secretary slot with 1,520 votes, another sweeping win for the Left.

As a woman, and after being elected, my number one priority will be to ensure that the campus is secure, both day and night. I'll work towards enhancing the areas of deprivation for female research scholars and work towards making JNU a sexual harassment-free campus," Fatima, a PhD scholar in West Asian Studies, said.

Her priority of minority rights is also the central part of her agenda. "I belong to a Muslim Community, and as such it becomes my responsibility to make sure that minorities on the campus are safe, are respected and are not discriminated against," she said. Fatima is from Patna, Bihar. 

Vaibhav Meen—Joint Secretary, JNUSU

In a dramatic turn of events, ABVP's Vaibhav Meena was chosen as JNUSU joint secretary, receiving 1,005 votes, beating AISA's Naresh Kumar by a hair's breadth of 85 votes.

Meena, a resident of Karauli, Rajasthan, is a research scholar of Hindi literature.

Briefing ThePrint, Meena said, "My emphasis will be addressing the issues of the campus, mostly the hostel issues and pending fellowships. Besides these, we will also ensure to promote nationalism in the campus."

ABVP's Vaibhav Meena elected as JNUSU joint secretary | Credit: ABVP

Even though ABVP secured the most coveted seats, their presence in the central panel is seen as a tough test for the Left, particularly the Right-wing party has secured its first seat in the central panel since 2015.

Kartikay Chaturvedi is a graduate intern of ThePrint School of Journalism.