Left sweeps JNU students' union elections, varsity gets 1st Dalit president since 1996

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) elected its first Dalit president from the Left-backed groups after nearly three decades.

The United Left panel effected a clean sweep in the JNUSU election, defeating its nearest rival the RSS-affiliated ABVP. In the polls that happened after a hiatus of four years, Dhananjay from the All India Students' Association (AISA) won the JNUSU president's post by securing 2,598 votes against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) Umesh C Ajmeera who secured 1,676 votes.

Dhananjay hails from Gaya, Bihar, and is the first Dalit president from the Left after Batti Lal Bairwa, who was elected in 1996-97. He is a PhD student from the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

During the JNUSU presidential debate, he raised concerns about the increased fees due to Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) loans taken by universities. He pledged to tackle water, health, and infrastructure-related issues on campus and demanded the release of student leaders detained under sedition charges.