HYDERABAD : The University of Hyderabad (HCU)  Students Federation of India (SFI) and Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) led ‘Alliance for Social Justice’ (ASJ) trounced RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in all central panel posts of students union elections held yesterday. ASJ won all the central panel posts including President, Vice President, General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Sports Secretary and Cultural Secretary.
Sreerag Poickadan, a PhD scholar from Regional studies won president post defeating K. Palsaniya of ABVP-OBCA alliance and Anju Rao of NSUI. Lunavath Naresh (Vice President), Arif Ahammed (General Secretary), Muhammed Ashique NP (Joint Secretary) Lolam Sravan Kumar (Sports Secretary) and Gundeti Abhishek (Cultural Secretary) are the newly elected office bearers of HCU students’union.

“The most important thing about this result is that the whole central panel has three Dalits, two Muslims and an Adivasi. This is a major shift the campus politics is witnessing these days,” said a student activist from HCU. Polling yesterday witnessed over 75% voter turnout.

SFI and ASA, an Ambedkarite organisation, have formed ASJ to take on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Indian National Congress’s NSUI in University of Hyderabad Students Union (SU) elections. In PG GSCASH elections, a seat which ABVP won last year, ASA alliance defeated ABVP.

Anti-ABVP students’ organisations and alliances have trounced the RSS-backed right-wing student organisation in several students union elections held recently, including, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU), Rajasthan University and Gauhati University.

The ASJ alliance in HCU also includes organisations like Dalit Students Union (DSU), Tribal Students Forum (TSF), Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika (TVV) – parties who were also part of last year’s Left led alliance-, Muslim Students Federation (MSF) and Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) from ASA led front.
These groups were also in support of research scholar Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide on the campus last year. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)-OBC Front contested for all postions, while National Students Union of India (NSUI) contested only for the President post.