JNUSU Election 2025: Vote counting begins after 67% turnout; results expected tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Counting of votes is underway for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) elections, held on Tuesday amid high enthusiasm and colourful campaigning across the campus. The results are expected to be announced on November 6, according to the JNUSU Election Committee. The polls recorded a voter turnout of 67 per cent this year - a slight dip from 70 per cent in the previous election. In 2023-24 polls, the university witnessed 73 per cent voting, the highest in the past decade.

Throughout Tuesday, the JNU campus came alive with the sound of drums, chants and campaign songs as students queued up at polling booths to elect the new central panel and school councillors. Polling began at 9 am and continued till 5.30 pm, with a break between 1 pm and 2.30 pm. A total of 9,043 students were eligible to vote for four key central posts - president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary - and for 42 councillor seats across various schools.

The contest, often seen as a reflection of larger ideological battles, is primarily between the Left Unity - a coalition of the All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) - and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The Left bloc has fielded Aditi Mishra for president, Kizhakoot Gopika Babu for vice-president, Sunil Yadav for general secretary and Danish Ali for joint secretary.

Former JNUSU president predicts left sweep

The ABVP's panel includes Vikas Patel, Tanya Kumari, Rajeshwar Kant Dubey and Anuj for the four central posts. While the ABVP has campaigned on themes of 'performance and nationalism', the Left bloc has focused on 'inclusion, accessibility and student welfare'. "The Left Unity will win all four central panel seats," former JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh told PTI as she campaigned outside a polling booth.

Although the turnout was modest in the morning, queues grew longer in the afternoon as students, many of them first-time voters, turned up to cast their ballots. Last year, AISA's Nitish Kumar won the president's post, while ABVP's Vaibhav Meena secured the joint secretary position, marking the right-wing outfit's return to the union after a decade. Counting began late Tuesday night and remains ongoing on Wednesday, with results to be declared on November 6.