Student elections: ABVP does well in 4 states, losing only in Punjab and JNU

NEW DELHI: On Sunday morning,each announcement of election result at Jawaharlal Nehru University lasted longer as it was also made in a highly Sanskritised version of Hindi, probably a sign of the changing times.

While the All India Students’ Association( AISA), a radical left students’ organisation managed to win all the four seats in the polls, the showstealer was the BJP-backed ABVP which doubled its vote share and came second in two of the four crucial seats, at the university known to be a Left bastion. On Saturday, ABVP won all four posts in Delhi University, after 18 long years, trouncing Congress’ NSUI.

“We are pushing for ‘compact campuses’ now to make them safe for women, totally restricting the entry of outsiders. We will also focus on making campuses free from those indulging in anti-national activities and their sympathizers,” said Rohit Chahal, National Secretary, ABVP.

The performance by ABVP is part of a spectacular series of results in recent times. In campus elections in five states held after the Lok Sabha polls, it did exceeding well in four, Punjab being the exception. ABVP also came back to power in major universities in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. “We bagged major posts in 10 out of 11 universities of Chattisgarh, the whole of Gujarat and in six out of 8 universities in Rajasthan,” said Chahal.

Unlike JNU that has mostly been a left stronghold, Delhi University has always represented the public mood, choosing to go either with NSUI or ABVP “We organised FYUP protests and were the only ones to get a 45-minute appointment with PM Modi. Students know we can deliver that is why they have voted for us,” Chahal said. The ABVP has brought back the Knowledge-Character-Unity or ‘Nationalism first’ as their guiding motto to posters again. Their promises are as flamboyant as those made by the BJP.