The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Tuesday won student union elections in three of the seven main universities in Rajasthan, Hindustan Times reported. Independent candidates won the president’s post in three universities, while the Congress’ student wing National Students’ Union of India won one.
The elections were held across the state, except in Jodhpur, on August 31. Students in Jodhpur voted on September 10.
The key election at the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur was won by Vinod Jakhar, who had fought as an independent candidate after defecting from the NSUI. He is the first student from a Scheduled Caste to be elected president of the students’ union at the university, DNA reported.
Independent candidates also won the top posts at Maharaja Ganga Singh University in Bikaner and University of Kota. The ABVP won the president’s post in Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University in Ajmer, Mohanlal Sukhadia University in Udaipur and Maharaja Surajmal Brij University in Bharatpur. The NSUI won the top position at Narain Vyas University in Jodhpur by just nine votes, according to the Hindustan Times.
“The loss in Jaipur is very disappointing for us,” Ratan Singh, ABVP’s Jaipur president told Hindustan Times. “A victory here sends a political message across the state. We were confident of winning here. Now we will introspect over the reasons for our defeat.”
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje took to Twitter to congratulate the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. She said the results of the elections was an indicator of what can be expected in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
National Students’ Union of India’s Rajasthan president Abhimanyu Singh said: “In most universities, NSUI rebels have won. The ABVP candidates, wherever they won, have won because they had the government’s support.”
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