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JNU elections: Doing it their way
Student elections mean colourful posters, snappy banners, plentiful slogans…..basically a boisterous and clamourous fete of youthful energy. But the scenario at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which goes to the polls on November 12, is entirely different. No posters, banners, no election hangama….what one could call a drab, lacklustre campaign. Not really. Chandrani Banerjee finds out.
Report: Chandrani Banerjee
Student elections mean colourful posters, snappy banners, plentiful slogans…..basically a boisterous and clamourous fete of youthful energy. But the scenario at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which goes to the polls on November 12, is entirely different. No posters, banners, no election hangama….what one could call a drab, lacklustre campaign.
But that is the way JNU has always been. Different! What one can enjoy here is the enriching blend of intellect and politics, a JNU trademark still very much in place. The eight days of campaigning in the JNU campus, beginning November 2, witnessed several lectures, projecting theories of Left and Right ideologies, and general body meetings.
Talking to Zeenews.com, a cross-section of students agreed that they cut the tamasha, but their university’s campaign loses no meat. Appreciating the simplicity of the campaigning, Lopa Mudra Ganguly, pursuing masters in physics, said, "The elections are a quite an event in JNU. We may find it colourless if we compare it with other universities but it has its own charm. We believe in proving our points through debate and discussions.”
Shazi Menon, student of international law said, "Our contestants are equally good in academics, it`s not just politics for them. It’s a battle of ideology. And watching them during debates and discussions, support our claims that we are different from rest of the universities".
Another unique feature of the JNUSU elections are that they are managed by the students alone, the administration has no role to play. They elect neutral candidates and form an election commission. The commission manages the electoral procedures. There are strict codes of conduct for the students to fight the elections and students abide by those rules.
Most student unions have their respective political affiliations. Traditionally, JNU has been the bastion of the Left with the presidency going to it in an unbroken chain for the past several years. This domination was for the first time challenged last year, when the ABVP won the presidential post of the JNUSU.
But for students, political affiliations apart, elections really mean fun time. Ravi.K.Das, of international law said, "I have no political affiliations as such but I enjoy the election procedures. The elections means late dinners, several rounds of coffee and going late to bed".
Talking to Zeenews.com, a cross-section of students agreed that they cut the tamasha, but their university’s campaign loses no meat. Appreciating the simplicity of the campaigning, Lopa Mudra Ganguly, pursuing masters in physics, said, "The elections are a quite an event in JNU. We may find it colourless if we compare it with other universities but it has its own charm. We believe in proving our points through debate and discussions.”
Shazi Menon, student of international law said, "Our contestants are equally good in academics, it`s not just politics for them. It’s a battle of ideology. And watching them during debates and discussions, support our claims that we are different from rest of the universities".
Another unique feature of the JNUSU elections are that they are managed by the students alone, the administration has no role to play. They elect neutral candidates and form an election commission. The commission manages the electoral procedures. There are strict codes of conduct for the students to fight the elections and students abide by those rules.
Most student unions have their respective political affiliations. Traditionally, JNU has been the bastion of the Left with the presidency going to it in an unbroken chain for the past several years. This domination was for the first time challenged last year, when the ABVP won the presidential post of the JNUSU.
But for students, political affiliations apart, elections really mean fun time. Ravi.K.Das, of international law said, "I have no political affiliations as such but I enjoy the election procedures. The elections means late dinners, several rounds of coffee and going late to bed".
Sugata N. Kelkar, another student, backs this sentiment, "I have no political affiliations but I spare time for elections. It’s fun to be a part of it. The campus becomes so active during elections. We always have someone in our room chatting on the political issues or discussing campus problems. Generally, everyone is busy pursuing their studies".
As the curtain on campaigning goes down on Saturday, it is this charm that makes the JNU election so special. A signature that student elections here are all about culture not dirty politicking.