Latest news with #Left-led
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
JNUSU meet disrupted by Left-ABVP clash
New Delhi: The functioning of the newly-elected Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union ( JNUSU ) has begun to hit rough waters, with a confrontation breaking out between members of the Left-backed panel and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP ) during a council meeting on incident occurred during the JNUSU-convened meeting to elect councillor-conveners for key central committees, such as health, library and mess. Tempers flared after a verbal spat between the two groups escalated, with members accusing each other of procedural violations and attempts to derail the election to JNUSU president Nitish Kumar, affiliated with the Left-backed AISA, the altercation began when ABVP joint secretary Vaibhav Meena allegedly tried to physically disrupt the proceedings by snatching the election register, in which votes were being recorded."He even tried to tear it up to stop us from minuting the results. This was a clear attempt to intimidate and derail the democratic process," Kumar claimed, adding that Meena also heckled JNUSU general secretary Muntaha Fatima.A video from the meeting, widely circulated online, shows Kumar and Fatima seated at a desk, with Meena standing close by and appearing to intervene as a heated verbal exchange the allegations, ABVP said it was the Left-led JNUSU that violated norms by arbitrarily introducing a new convener post — disaster management convener — without proper procedure."This election has always been held for 11 conveners, but they suddenly started conducting polls for a 12th post without informing us or passing any resolution. When we objected, they continued with the process and eventually declared their candidate the winner unfairly," Meena claimed the ABVP candidate was wrongly shown to have received zero votes: "We were demanding a re-vote because of the faulty process, but instead of acknowledging the objection, JNUSU tried to enter the result in the register. In the video, I am seen trying to stop them from writing down a manipulated outcome."While JNUSU accused ABVP members of disrupting elections and intimidating office-bearers, ABVP said it was protesting procedural violations and lack of transparency in the selection incident marks one of the first major flashpoints between the two groups since the JNUSU elections saw ABVP securing a seat in the central panel after nearly 10 years.
Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Son of tribal farmers, PhD scholar: How ABVP's Vaibhav Meena broke barriers to reach JNU — found a spot on its students' union
Long before he stepped into Jawaharlal Nehru University's sprawling campus, Vaibhav Meena spent his days balancing coursework with side jobs at call centres in Jaipur. The son of tribal farmers from Rajasthan's Karauli district, Meena worked to pay his university fees, determined to have an education his family had never imagined for him. 'I come from a simple lower-middle-class family background where we had to support our own education. While pursuing my Bachelor's degree in Jaipur, I worked at a call centre to pay my fees. Then I did my Master's from Banaras Hindu University,' the 27-year-old told The Indian Express after his win in the JNU students' union election. He bagged the post of joint secretary — marking the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) return to the central panel for the first time in nearly a decade. The ABVP last held a central panel seat in 2015-16, when it won the post of Joint Secretary by defeating the AISA candidate by a narrow margin of 28 votes. Polling for the four central panel posts was held on Friday. Of the 7,906 eligible voters, close to 70% cast their votes — slightly lower than last year's turnout of around 73%. In the final tally, Nitish Kumar from the All India Students' Association (AISA) was elected President, Manisha from the Democratic Students' Front (DSF) became Vice-President, Munteha Fatima from DSF was elected General Secretary, while Meena clinched the post of Joint Secretary for ABVP. The AISA, which broke away from the Students' Federation of India, allied with DSF for the polls. Meena, now a PhD scholar in Hindi Literature at JNU, has become the first from his village to enter the university and made it to the central student body. Growing up, he said, his father's interest in politics laid the foundation for his own political journey. 'My father has always been my inspiration to enter student politics. I have been associated with the ABVP since my time at Jaipur University.' But Meena's entry into JNU wasn't just about academic ambition, it was about breaking barriers of caste, geography, and class. 'I come from a tribal background… my mother and father work as farmers,' he said. 'I am the first from my village to do a PhD in Hindi.' Apart from the central panel win, the ABVP claimed it won 23 out of 42 councillor seats across JNU's 16 schools and special centres. In a statement issued Sunday, ABVP described its performance as 'historic,' highlighting breakthroughs into traditionally Left-dominated bastions such as the School of Social Sciences and the School of International Studies. In a statement earlier, the student body also said that the 'failure of the current Left-led JNUSU has raised concerns over academic quality, infrastructural facilities and democratic discourse on campus'. Asked about operating within a historically Left-dominated campus, Meena remained unfazed. 'We have done very well in winning most of the councillor posts in schools, so I don't think it should be a problem,' he said. 'The Left has been dominant for a decade, but still, look at the campus and its deteriorating infrastructure. They couldn't make anything better. This is my goal: to make JNU better for students and to save it from the 'deshdrohi' image that the Left is responsible for.' For Meena, student politics is only the beginning. His ambition stretches far beyond JNU's campus gates. 'I aim to enter active politics in the future while being associated with the Vidyarthi Parishad and wish to do more work to uplift people in our society,' he said.
