JnUCSU elections: 4 reasons behind Islami Chhatra Shibir’s victory

Islami Chhatra Shibir has also secured victory in the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) election. Candidates from the Chhatra Shibir-backed ‘Odommo Jobian Oikko’ panel won 16 out of 21 posts, including vice-president (VP), general secretary (GS), and assistant general secretary (AGS).

Earlier, in last year’s elections to student and hall unions at four universities including Dhaka University, Islami Chhatra Shibir panel candidates won most of the posts.

It has been learned after speaking to Chhatra Shibir leaders and activists as well as general students that at least four factors contributed to this victory.

Many believe that the way general students voted along panel lines in previous student and hall union elections—such as DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students’ Union), JUCSU (Jahangirnagar University Students’ Union), RUCSU (Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union), and CUCSU (Chittagong University Central Students’ Union)—also influenced the JnUCSU outcome.

Another group says that through regular organisational meetings, study circles, and work on students’ academic and personal issues, Chhatra Shibir has been able to build a dedicated vote bank.

A student who wished to remain anonymous told Prothom Alo, “By asking for votes while giving equal importance to all students, a positive environment has been created on campus.”

According to some of the winning candidates, one of the key reasons behind the Chhatra Shibir panel’s victory was strategic panel formation. Alongside students affiliated with Inqilab Moncho and UP Bangladesh, familiar faces from the July movement were also included in the panel.

Nawshin Nawar Joya, who won the post of international affairs secretary, was active during the July movement.

She believes that including independent candidates who are not directly involved in Chhatra Shibir politics, along with well-known faces from the July movement, increased Chhatra Shibir’s acceptability among students. In addition, active engagement in improving the academic environment and participating in various social and humanitarian activities had a strong impact, especially among women voters.

Analysis shows that almost all of the winning candidates were actively involved in the July mass uprising. Riazul Islam won the VP post with 5,558 votes. He faced a close contest with AKM Rakib of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal–Chhatra Odhikar Parishad–backed panel, who secured 4,688 votes. Rakib is also a familiar face from the July mass uprising.

For the GS post, Abdul Alim Arif of the Chhatra Shibir-backed panel received 5,475 votes. He too was active during the July mass uprising.

His nearest rival was Khadijatul Kubra of the JCD–Chhatra Odhikar–backed panel. She had previously been imprisoned under a Digital Security Act case during the tenure of the former Awami League government. However, she received less than half of Alim’s vote total.

Masud Rana, who won the AGS post, was a coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement. Nur Nabi, who won the post of liberation war and democracy affairs secretary, was a victim of enforced disappearance during the July mass uprising.

It has been learned after speaking to general students and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leaders and activists that there has long been a division within Jagannath University unit JCD between active and inactive factions.

Due to faction-based organisational strength and a lack of electoral coordination, Chhatra Dal was forced at the last moment to form an alliance with Chhatra Odhikar Parishad. As a result, important posts such as VP had to be conceded to alliance partners.

Questions were also raised within the party over the decision to nominate Khadijatul Kubra for the GS post. Multiple leaders said that many activists became disgruntled because she was given a party position just before the panel announcement and nominated while long-time dedicated leaders were excluded.

A joint convener of the university unit Chhatra Dal, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said, “Internal rift within the party are the main reason for this defeat. There was a tendency not to vote for the party candidate if one’s own group’s candidate was not there. By excluding students who had long been involved in movements and struggles, suitable candidates were not selected.”

Meanwhile, apart from Ivan Tahsiv, candidates from the left-supported alliance panel failed to gain notable support in the GS race. The panel backed by Jatiya Chhatra Shakti also failed to attract student votes.