JACSU elections after 33 years: Surprise at top positions, no single panel victory possible

The main competition in the Jahangirnagar University Central Student Union (JUCU) elections is going to be between five panels. However, general students believe that no panel will be able to win all the posts alone.

After a long 33 years, the JUCU and Hall Parliament elections will be held on September 11. 179 candidates are competing against 25 JUCU posts. Out of these, 10 are competing for the post of Vice President (VP) and 9 are competing for the post of General Secretary (GS).

According to students, the personal image of the candidate will play a bigger role than the organization in this election. Farhana Rithi, a student of the Anthropology Department, said, “This is a residential university. Everyone knows everyone. Personal acquaintances and relationships with students will be the main determinants of victory or defeat.”

Although seven panels have already been announced, students see the main competition in five. These are the Chhatra Dal-backed panel, the Democratic Chhatra Sansad-backed 'Shikharthi Oikya Forum', the 'Swatantra Chhatra Sammilon' led by Abdur Rashid Jitu, the 'Sampritir Oikya' of leftist organizations, and the 'Samnibit Chhatra Jote' supported by Chhatra Shibir.

Apart from this, another partial panel of leftist organizations, the 'Samshptak Parshad', and the 'Swatantra Angikar Parishad' formed by a section of the Jahangirnagar Cultural Alliance, are also participating in the elections.

Although no other panel of Jaksur has nominated a woman candidate for the top two positions, the Chhatra Dal has nominated Tanzila Hossain for the GS position. According to analysts, this strategy has been adopted to attract female voters.

On the other hand, the 'Sampritir Oikya' panel, formed by leftist and cultural organizations, has fielded 11 women and 7 candidates from ethnic minorities.

Some of the students who participated in the July movement and were injured have also become candidates this time. Shakil Ali, a student who was discussed in the movement, is running for the GS post in the ‘Swatantra Chhattisgarh Sammilon’ panel led by Abdur Rashid Jitu.

In addition, the Chhatrishibir-supported panel has also included some people who were injured in the July movement. As a result, students believe that the impact of this movement will play a big role in the election.

Mohammad Tariqul Islam, a professor at the university’s Department of Government and Politics, said, “Student Parliament elections will bring coexistence and stability to student politics. Its continuity will play a role in establishing a democratic culture on campus in the long term, which will also have a positive impact on national politics.”