As the election season is gearing up at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the university on Monday, February 5, has asked the students' organisations to submit the names of those who will be given the responsibility to authorise the conduction of the General Body Meeting (GBM), a crucial step before union elections are held at the university, according to a PTI report.
A slight change in the process
As compared to the polls conducted in 2019, the Dean of Students (DoS) Office this time has issued a notice asking representatives of the organisations to unanimously decide the names for the GBM.
Previously students used to decide within themselves on who would hold all of the GBMs.
The JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) used to hold the meeting at the university level to elect the election commissioner. As the administration did not notify the JNUSU in 2019, the DoS, in its absence, has asked students' outfits to submit the names for conducting the GBM.
On Monday, February 5, the DoS held a meeting with the representatives of a total of 16 student groups, to begin with the process of the students' union elections 2023-24, as per a notification.
The meeting
In the meeting, it was concluded that students would unanimously choose the members of the GBM, but the meeting was boycotted by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP's) JNU outfit which objected to the role of the DoS in holding the JNUSU elections.
"We believe the JNU elections should be totally student-centric and conducted by the election commission comprising students. Why is the DoS' office unnecessarily involved in the JNU elections?" the students' outfit said in a statement.
The GBM is of great importance as the students select the members of the commission which will later declare the JNUSU results. It is to be noted that JNU will hold the students' union elections after a hiatus of four years.
