JNUSU contestants invoke ‘Pahalgam’, ‘religion’ and ‘Palestine’ in intense debate (2025)

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) elections hit a fever pitch on Wednesday night as presidential candidates raked up the Pahalgam terror attack and invoked religion as a key topic point in the presidential debate held on the Jhelum ground.

The presidential debate has been a longstanding tradition of the JNUSU polls and was attended by various student organisations. The event started at 11.30pmwith the sound of drumbeats, which were soon replaced by slogans of “Azadi” and “Lal Salaam”. Posters of “Hindu Lives Matter” were also a common sight.

With multiple student organisations present at the spot, the event got off to a rough start due to continuous disruptions. The student election committee brought in order by threatening to pause the debate if the crowd did not follow social decorum.

The election process, after minor bumps, is back on track, with the polling process set for Friday. The polling will take place in two sessions, from 9am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 5.30pm. The counting of votes is expected to take place on the same day and the announcement of results on Monday. A total of 7,906 students are set to vote this year, 57% male and 43% female voters.

Each of the 13 candidates was allotted 12 minutes to present their political ideologies. A two-minute silence was observed before the speeches in memory of the Pahalgam attack victims.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) presidential candidate Shikha Swaraj said in her speech, asked, “To those who say terrorism has no religion, were the victims not asked their faith before being killed?”

All India Students Association (AISA) candidate Nitish Kumar retaliated with equal fervour, saying: “...CAA-NRC has been implemented, and inside the Parliament, Opposition is asked to lower their gaze while talking; but on the other hand, there is no action when they insult Ambedkar.”

Students’ Federation of India candidate Choudhury Tayyaba Ahmed’s speech, meanwhile, was disrupted multiple times by ABVP, as she got on the stage to point out the “flaws of the right”. “Today, the biggest danger to the liberalisation of people is the corporate Hindutva... They are doing politics out of violence,” she said.

National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) candidate Pradeep Dhaka thundered on the stage with references to several international and national political issues, weaving in hot-button issues of Palestine, Manipur and Bilkis Bano.

A common part of most speeches were flaws of the administration, lack of proper academic resources and students’ needs taking a back seat in the power struggle between the Left and Right bodies.

This year, the JNU student elections have been marked by several changes in contestant dynamics. The long-standing unity of the Left was broken, with the AISA allying with the Democratic Students Federation (DSF), while the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), AISF, and PSA have each nominated their own candidates.

See Less