JnUCSU polls: Chhatra Dal, Shibir trade allegations of harassment

Voting is underway for the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) elections. While the process began smoothly, allegations of harassment have surfaced. The panel supported by Chhatra Shibir accused Chhatra Dal members of harassing their candidates, while Chhatra Dal claimed that their candidate candidates were the ones who faced harassment.

The Chhatra Shibir-supported panel held a press conference in front of the university’s Rafique Bhaban on Tuesday (6 January).

At the press conference, Riazul Islam, vice president candidate of the Chhatra Shibir panel, said that in the English Department, Chhatra Dal members were distributing their panel’s promotional materials. When their candidates informed them that this violated election rules, Chhatra Dal allegedly tried to attack them. A similar incident occurred in the Philosophy Department. He expressed concern over the fairness of the election, claiming that the Election Commission is biased in favor of Chhatra Dal, and called for direct state intervention to ensure a fair process.

He further alleged that Chhatra Dal members were pushing and shoving at the main gate from the start. Their volunteers distributing slips were harassed, including female students. In the Physics Department, slips of the Chhatra Shibir panel were allegedly taken from female students. According to him, when their agents tried to intervene in the Philosophy Department, Chhatra Dal members attempted to attack them inside the polling centre.

However, these allegations were denied by Shamsul Arefin, member secretary of JnU Chhatra Dal, who told Jago News that the claims were false. He alleged that a former Shibir president named Asad had harassed their candidates instead.