In a clean sweep, the Left-supported groups won all the four posts in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) polls.

The university on Sunday elected its first Dalit president from the Left-backed groups after nearly three decades, decimating its nearest rival the RSS-affiliated ABVP.

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Dhananjay Kumar 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.

“This victory is a referendum by students of JNU that they reject the politics of hate and violence. The students have once again shown their trust in us. We will continue to fight for their rights and work on issues that concern students. The safety of women on campus, fund cuts, scholarship hike, infrastructural and water crisis are among the top priorities of the students union to begin with,” he told a news agency.

Amid cries of ‘Lal Salaam’ and ‘Jai Bhim’, the winning students were hailed by their supporters.

Avijit Ghosh from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) trounced ABVP’s Deepika Sharma by 927 votes to win the vice-president’s post. Ghosh received 2,409 votes as opposed to 1,482 votes by Sharma.

Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) candidate Priyanshi Arya, who was supported by the Left, won the general secretary post’s by defeating ABVP’s Arjun Anand by 926 votes. Arya polled in 2,887 votes while Anand received 1961 votes.

The Left’s Mohammad Sajid won the joint secretary’s post by defeating ABVP’s Govind Dangi by 508 votes. His was the lowest victory among all the four winners.

The United Left panel comprises AISA, Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Federation (AISF).

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union polls on Friday witnessed a voter turnout of 73 per cent, highest in the last 12 years.

Re-establishing its dominance in the university, the Left alliance stomped on the hopes of the ABVP, which during the initial trends emerged as the leading party in all four seats, only to be later giving way to the Red flag bearers, as the counting progressed.

According to JNU’s Chairperson of the Election Committee (CEC), a total of 5,656 ballots were counted to the final tally.

The United Left has had funds cut for infrastructural projects and rampant privatisation on its agenda. Dhananjay in his presidential speech ahead of the polls had spoken essentially about the livelihood crisis being faced by landless labourers in many rural parts of the country, including states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.