In an important move towards preparing for its upcoming union elections, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi asked student organizations to submit the names of those who will be allowed to lead the General Body Meeting (GBM) on Monday, February 5. The election commissioner is chosen during this meeting, which is a crucial step in the electoral process.
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CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS ELECTIONS
The Dean of Students (DoS) Office has released a notice asking representatives of student organizations to decide on the GBM names unanimously, in contrast to the 2019 polls. In the past, students would mutually decide who would host the GBM, and the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) would set up the university-level assembly to choose the election commissioner.
DoS INTERVENTION IN GENERAL BODY MEETING
In the absence of the administration’s notification to the JNUSU in 2019, the DoS has stepped up to request student organizations’ names for carrying out the GBM. According to a notification, the Department of State (DoS) met on Monday with representatives of roughly sixteen student organizations to start the process of holding student union elections for the 2023–2024 school year.
JNUSU ELECTIONS TO BE HELD AFTER BEING DELAYED FOR PAST FOUR YEARS
UNANIMOUS DECISION
It was decided during the meeting that students would choose the GBM members in unanimity. The JNU student organization, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), objected to the meeting and abstained from the events. The JNUSU elections should be fully student-centric and run by an election committee made up of students, the ABVP stated in opposition to the DoS’s involvement in the process.
IMPORTANCE OF GENERAL BODY MEETING
It is the venue where students choose the members of the commission in charge of announcing the JNUSU results. The GBM is extremely significant to the election process. The student union elections at JNU are scheduled to take place after a four-year break, which is a noteworthy development in the university’s democratic procedures.
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BOYCOTT OF THE MEETING
The JNU outfit of the ABVP boycotted the meeting because they disagreed with the DoS’s involvement in conducting the JNUSU elections.
“We think the election committee, which should be made up of students, should run the JNU elections in a completely student-centric manner. Why is the DoS office’s involvement in the JNU elections unnecessary? The students’ outfits stated in a statement
 on Monday, February 5.){kind=link}