JNUSU: ABVP's newly-elected Joint Secy Vaibhav Meena promises inclusive campus

New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) star performer in Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union Election and newly-elected Joint Secretary Vaibhav Meena said on Monday that his win shows the growing acceptability of nationalist ideology in the Left fortress.

Meena, who hails from Karauli in Rajasthan and comes from a tribal farming family, vowed to work for building an inclusive campus and contribute to nation-building.

"The newly constituted JNUSU under our leadership will dedicate every step, every decision and every initiative to the welfare of the student community,” said Meena in his opening remarks.

“We have a vision of building a campus where dialogue, inclusivity and academic excellence are paramount and every student has the environment to grow with equal opportunity,” he said.

“This victory marks the first step towards creating a JNU where education becomes a powerful catalyst for nation-building," said Meena, who completed his graduation at the University of Rajasthan and post-graduation in Hindi Literature at Banaras Hindu University.

Currently, Meena is a research scholar in Hindi Literature at the Centre of Indian Languages, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies at JNU. He also holds a JRF in Hindi Literature.

Beyond his academic excellence, Meena has successfully completed a two-year National Service Scheme programme. Presently, he also serves as the President of Kaveri Hostel, JNU.

Congratulating Meena, ABVP National General Secretary Dr Virendra Solanki stated, "A new dawn of nationalism has begun in JNU. Today, history has been created. The walls that were long held by the leftist ideology have crumbled through the democratic decision of the students.”

Solanki said the ABVP has achieved victories in 24 out of 46 Councillor posts across schools and special centres.

“This is a victory for every student who believes that education should be the foundation for nation-building. We will continue to fight for every student's rights and uphold the idea of Nation First," he said.

In the results announced in the wee hours on Monday, the Left maintained its dominance by winning three out of the top four posts in the students' union, with Nitish Kumar of the All India Students' Association (AISA) winning the President’s post.

Nitish Kumar secured 1,702 votes to win the post of President.

Manisha and Munteha Fatima, both from the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), claimed the posts of Vice-President and General Secretary, respectively.

ABVP’s Meena won the Joint Secretary’s post with 1,518 votes. He beat AISA's Naresh Kumar (1,433 votes) and Progressive Students' Association (PSA) candidate Nigam Kumari (1,256 votes).

With Meena’s victory, the ABVP bagged a central panel post for the first time since Saurav Sharma's victory on the same post in 2015-16. The last time the ABVP won the post of president was in 2000-01 when Sandeep Mahapatra had emerged victorious.

Summing up its achievements in the just-concluded election, the ABVP said five of its councillors were elected unopposed.

In the School of Social Sciences, traditionally considered a leftist stronghold, ABVP won two seats after 25 years and in the School of International Studies, long dominated by the Left, ABVP secured two seats, it said.

The ABVP achieved several uncontested victories, including Surendra Bishnoi in the School of Biotechnology; Praveen Piyush, Raja Babu, and Prachi Jaiswal in all three seats of the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies.

Govardhan Singh was elected unopposed from the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, said the ABVP.

--IANS

rch/uk