It's not all 'Right' in India's campuses: JNU, DU thwart saffron push, UoH up next?

The Bharatiya Janata Party has been on a winning spree in almost every assembly elections in recent times, except its defeat in Punjab. However, India's campus polls show that the saffron party, despite its concerted efforts, has not been able to make an impact in the students' community.  

Just a week back, the Left Unity swept the student union elections in Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), defeating Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP.

JNU for decades has been known as a Left citadel. However, after last year's controversy over alleged anti-national slogans and sedition case, the prestigious university was in the news for all the wrong reasons. 

Many student leaders, mostly hailing from the Congress and Communist parties, alleged that the whole fiasco was part of a design by the government to paint the left-leaning parties as anti-national and gain some ground for the ABVP.  

But looking at the recent JNUSU results, the strategy of the saffron camp seems to have had no effect, as the students elected Geeta Kumari, daughter of a soldier, as the union president.

Meanwhile, in Delhi University, National Students' Union of India (NSUI) won the posts of president and vice-president. The Congress-backed NSUI is holding the president's position in Delhi University after five years, Hindustan Times reported.  

BJP fails to make inroads into campuses 

Largely, India's campuses have been dominated by Left and Congress' student unions. The BJP, ever since the time it came to power at the Centre in 2014, has been leaving no stone unturned to mark its presence in universities.

However, after the shocking loss in DUSU polls and the defeat in JNUSU, it looks like ABVP failed to make an impact, despite its big push to claim its space. Besides, if these campus elections are any indication, the BJP is fast losing its sway among youth, on whose support brand Modi had been built.

Not just in Delhi, the Left had also won the student council elections in all 22 government-run degree colleges in the north eastern state of Tripura.

Will the wind blow to the South?

The University of Hyderabad is gearing up for its student union elections to be held on September 21.

The Ambedkar Students' Association and Students Federation of India along with Students Islamic Organisation and Muslim Students Federation among other Dalit and tribal groups have joined hands under the banner 'Alliance for Social Justice' to collectively fight what they call fascists.

ABVP is backed by Other Backward Class Students Association.

"We will focus on social justice and ensure students' entitlements. Apart from this, the Justice for Rohith Vemula movement will play a pivotal role in our agenda," P Sreerag, presidential nominee of the ASA-SFI tie-up told ToI.

The poll results will be declared on September 22. The UoH mandate is likely to give us a clearer picture of the students' mood.

Will the campus trend reflect in the mainstream politics too? With 65 percent of India's population below the age of 35, the results of student elections are likely to predict a shift in the direction of political discourse.