New Delhi, April 25: Voting for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) elections got underway on Friday morning, officials said.

The polling is being held in two sessions -- from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. The counting of votes will begin later tonight, and the results are expected by April 28.

This year, 7,906 students are eligible to vote -- 57 per cent of them male and 43 per cent female. The contest is intense and sharply polarised, with new alliances redrawing old battle lines on the campus. This year's election has seen major realignments with the long-standing United Left getting splintered. JNU Students' Union Polls: Election Committee Demands Police Protection.

The All India Students Association (AISA) has allied with the Democratic Students' Federation (DSF), while the Students' Federation of India (SFI) has joined hands with the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA), All India Students' Federation (AISF), and Progressive Students' Association (PSA) to form a separate bloc. Slogans, Songs and Solidarity: Explosive Presidential Debate Sets JNU Abuzz Ahead of Polls.

JNU Election Uderway

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has fielded a full panel comprising Shikha Swaraj for president, Nittu Goutham for vice-president, Kunal Rai for general secretary, and Vaibhav Meena for joint secretary.

The AISA-DSF alliance has nominated Nitish Kumar for president, Manisha for vice-president, Munteha Fatima for general secretary, and Naresh Kumar for joint secretary. Meanwhile, the SFI-BAPSA-AISF-PSA bloc has put forward Choudhary Tayyaba Ahmed for president, Santosh Kumar for vice-president, Ramniwas Gurjar for general secretary, and Nigam Kumar for joint secretary.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)