The Left Unity of DSF, SFI, and AISA on Thursday retained the Jawaharlal Nehru University with a clean sweep — winning all four central panel posts in the students' union elections (JNUSU.
It was a prestige battle for the Left alliance as the polls came a year after the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) broke a decade-long dry spell by securing the Joint Secretary's post through Vaibhav Meena. However, the All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI), and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) bounced back emphatically, reaffirming their long-standing dominance on the campus.
Aditi Mishra from AISA defeated Vikas Patel by a margin of 449 votes, polling 1,937 votes against Patel's 1,488 to become the JNUSU President. Mishra, who hails from Varanasi, is a PhD scholar at the Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory, School of International Studies (SIS). Her research focuses on "Gendered violence and the ways women of Uttar Pradesh have been mounting resistance since 2012."
Known for her activism on gender justice, she said the results were a mandate "against hooliganism, Islamophobia, casteism, and misogyny" and "in favour of quality and low-cost education."
Kizhakoot Gopika Babu from SFI bagged the Vice-President's post after defeating ABVP’s Tanya Kumari by 1,314 votes. Gopika secured 3,101 votes. A PhD student at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, School of Social Sciences, she joined JNU in 2022 after completing her Master's in Sociology from Miranda House, Delhi University.
Sunil Yadav of DSF and Danish Ali of AISA won the General Secretary and Joint Secretary posts, respectively, after defeating their right-wing rivals Rajeshwar Kant Dubey and Anuj. Yadav secured 2,005 votes against Dubey's 1,901, while Ali won by a margin of 286 votes.
Yadav, a first-generation graduate from Bedipur village in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district, is a PhD scholar from SIS. Ali, a first-year PhD student from the School of Social Sciences, hails from Bandarbarru village in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district.
Who is Gopika Babu?
It was Kerala-native Gopika who recorded the most authoritative win in the main panel. Gopika was a Counsellor in the JNU Students' Union during the 2023–24 period. After completing her degree studies at Miranda House College, Delhi University, she joined JNU in 2022 as an MA Sociology student. From then on, she actively worked with the Left and, in her second year, won as the SFI's School of Social Sciences Counsellor candidate. She was actively involved in campaigns to reopen Barak Hostel and to conduct the JNUSU elections after they had been stalled.
She completed her MA Sociology with a gold medal, Manorama Online said in a report. Gopika was also at the forefront of the struggles demanding the conduct of the stalled student union elections. An excellent artist, she is also in the leadership ranks of the Young Socialist Artist (YSA) organisation.
Her father, K.G. Babu, works in Bahrain. Her mother, Juma Babu, is a teacher. Gopika Babu stated that the election was a direct political battle against communal forces. Students defeated the ideologies of ABVP. Funds for the university have been significantly cut over the past ten years. The central government, UGC, and Delhi government continue to show severe neglect. Gopika also stated that the student union would continue its strong fight against corporatisation and communal agendas.
This year, around 9,043 students were eligible to vote. The polls recorded a 67 per cent turnout, slightly lower than the previous election's 70 per cent. The campus saw vibrant participation with students queuing up outside hostels and schools amid chants, drumbeats, and campaign songs.