JNU Elections: Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav Hails First Dalit President Dhananjay

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said a Dalit being elected the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) is a collective victory of backward classes, Dalits and minorities.

In a post on X, Yadav said, “The PDA unity has collectively won all important posts in the JNU Students Union elections and defeated the BJP-backed ABVP by a huge margin.” PDA, an acronym coined by the SP leader, stands for ‘pichhde’ (backward classes), Dalit and ‘alpsankhyak’ (minorities).

The United Left panel on Sunday effected a clean sweep in the JNUSU elections, defeating its nearest rival the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The JNUSU elected its first Dalit president from the Left-backed groups after nearly three decades.

Dhananjay from the All India Students’ Association (AISA) won the JNUSU president’s post by securing 2,598 votes against the ABVP’s Umesh C Ajmeera, who secured 1,676 votes.

Like the students of JNU, Yadav said, the youths across the country will encourage their families to vote against the BJP due to “unprecedented unemployment”, “widespread corruption”, “expensive education” and inflation under the party’s rule.

He also exhorted the youths to remain vigilant against bogus voting at polling booths.

“Stand firm until the election results are declared and the victory certificate is received,” the SP chief said.

“Only with this awareness can votes be protected and positive results achieved in the interest of the public,” he said, adding that the “anti-youth BJP” will be defeated by their power.

JNU Elections: Who is Dhananjay? JNU’s First Dalit President

With the Left panel sweeping the polls, the JNU lived up to its reputation of being a Left bastion. The ABVP gave a neck-and-neck fight and was leading on all four central panel posts in the initial trends.

The United Left panel comprises AISA, Democratic Students’ Federation, Students’ Federation of India and the All India Students’ Federation.