Aligarh: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Students' Union elections have produced a historic result, with law student Nashra Naim becoming the first woman to win one of the three top posts in the students' body. The results were declared on Friday after voting was held on November 5, marking the return of the union's electoral process after an eight-year gap.
Research scholar Noman Ashraf won the president's post, while BTech student Mohammad Hamdan was elected honorary secretary. Naim secured the vice-president's position.
Ashraf, a research scholar in the Department of History, won the presidential election with 7,797 votes. He defeated his nearest rival, Mohammad Intikhab, by a margin of 4,121 votes.
Reacting to his victory, Ashraf told IANS, "After a long struggle of eight years, we have finally achieved this opportunity, and it is a moment of great happiness. You can see the enthusiasm and excitement among the students here..."
Hamdan, meanwhile, said he understood the responsibility that came with the mandate. "A victory this big comes with an even bigger responsibility, and I will do my best to fulfil it. I will make every effort to honour all the promises I have made and work wholeheartedly towards achieving them..." he said.
The vice-president's contest saw seven candidates in the fray. Naim faced a close challenge from Saqib Ali Khan but secured a lead in the final rounds of counting.
Speaking about her win, Naim said, "I believe that achieving this in such a short time, with limited resources and a small team, was possible because of the dedication, courage and sincerity of the people who joined us."
She also spoke about the need for changes in student leadership and addressing issues that have remained unresolved over the years.
"I feel that leadership needs to be redefined. Over the past eight years, several issues have emerged, and even before that, when the Students' Union was active, we had heard about many challenges..." she added.
Naim described her victory as a win for the entire student community and said she had begun a new journey with a particular vision.
Counting continued through Thursday night at the university's ABK School campus, with the results announced on Friday morning. Voting took place at 13 polling centres.
With inputs of IANS