Independent candidate Nirmal Chaudhary was elected as the president of the Rajasthan University Students’ Union in Jaipur on Saturday, defeating his nearest rival Niharika Jorwal, another independent candidate, with a margin of over 1,400 votes.
Jorwal is the daughter of state minister Murari Meena, who is considered to be close to former deputy chief minister and senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot. She contested the election as an independent candidate after she was denied a ticket by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of the Congress.
Chaudhary got 4,043 votes while Jorwal bagged 2,576 votes. NSUI candidate Ritu Barala finished the poll race in the third position with 2,010 votes and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Narendra Yadav occupied the fourth spot with 988 votes. Interestingly, during the Rajasthan University Students Union elections, the candidates asked for votes by lying on the road and holding their feet. A video showing candidates lying down and touching the feet of students has gone viral on social media.
Meanwhile, the NSUI has expelled Jorwal and five others for contesting the polls as rebel candidates. Independent candidate Amish Meena was elected as the vice-president, ABVP’s Arvind Jajara as the general secretary and NSUI nominee Dhara Kumwat as the joint secretary.
The panel members were administered the oath after the results were announced. Talking to reporters, Chaudhary said several conspiracies were hatched by his rivals to ensure his defeat but the students voted in his favour.
He said he will present a report card of his performance in a month. Results of the student body election in other universities of the state and their constituent colleges were also announced on Saturday.
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said in the elections in the universities of the state, eight ABVP candidates were elected as presidents while the NSUI could not secure the post in any university. “Seven ABVP candidates have been elected as presidents in the students’ union elections in the universities of Rajasthan, whereas the NSUI has not got a single president’s post.
“The students’ power has expressed the anger of the people suffering from the misrule of the Congress in the state. If the state government wants, it can see the mirror,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said in a statement. Congratulating the triumphant ABVP candidates, Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia said there is anti-incumbency against the state government, adding that people will free the state from the Congress forever and bring the saffron party to power with a huge mandate.
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