JNUSU Election 2018: Polling underway for 4 crucial posts; eight candidates in fray

Elections for the four crucial posts in Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) is currently underway where eight JNU candidates are in the fray for the prestigious posts of president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary.

The first phase of the JNUSU election, which will test the electoral fortunes of the candidates, has ended at 1:30 pm. The second phase of polling will resume at 2:30 pm and will culminate at 5:30 pm.

Elaborate security arrangements have been done for the JNUSU polls, keeping in mind the aftermath of various controversial incidents which rocked the politically active campus.

Parties and candidates which are in the fray in JNUSU elections 2018:

The All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) and All India Students' Federation (AISF) have joined hands to form the United-Left alliance. The alliance has picked N Sai Balaji from the School of International Studies as its presidential candidate.

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DSF's Sarika Chaudhary is contesting for the post of vice president while SFI's Aejaz Ahmad Rather has been chosen to contest for the post of general secretary. ASIF's Amutha Jayadeep is in fray for the joint secretary's position. The trio is currently studying in the School of Social Sciences.

Talking about the candidates of the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Vikas Yadav of the School of International Studies is contesting for the president's post. Lijy K Babu has been fielded by the School of Life Sciences to contest for the post of vice president.

While Md Mofizul Alam is eyeing for the post of secretary, Ngurang Reena of the School of International Studies is fighting for the post of joint secretary.

The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has fielded Lalit Pandey for the president's post while Geetashri Boruah is fighting for the post of vice-presidents. Ganesh Gurjar and Venkat Choubey are in the fray for the post of general secretary and joint secretary respectively.

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Besides the routine campaigning, the JNU candidates also took part in the presidential debate and answered several questions in an attempt to woo voters. The sought-after event witnessed a fiery debate with candidates alleging that "anti-national" elements were present on the institute's campus and the country was turning into "lynchistan".