The tussle within the Left came to the fore on Wednesday after a notification from the election committee of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) postponed the announcement of the final list of candidates for Thursday.
Sources suggested that the move came over differences between the Left-affiliated parties for the post of JNUSU president and vice president.
Currently all the left affiliated outfits, All India Students’ Association (AISA), the Student Federation of India (SFI), the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), and the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) are part of the larger Left Unity alliance, which is the similar case this time too.
However, the clarity over the presidential candidate from the Left alliance, with both AISA and SFI staking claim to the top post, is the reason the Election Committee has postponed the day’s schedule, a party member aware of the matter told The Statesman.
Notably, AISA has named Nitish, a PhD scholar from Bihar, as its nominee while the SFI has fielded Gopika, a PhD scholar from Kerala.
Last year’s JNUSU polls, held in March 2024 after a four-year hiatus, saw the United Left alliance win three of the four central panel posts while BAPSA, supported by the Left, secured one.
As per the official data, 7,906 students are eligible to vote this year, with 43 per cent female and 57 per cent male students.
The JNUSU Election Committee has received over 160 nominations for four central panel posts.