JnUCSU polls: Now Shibir takes lead in VP race
The Shibir-backed panel is also leading in the GS and AGS races
The vice-president (VP) candidate from the Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed 'Odommo Jobian Oikya' panel has taken a lead of 351 votes as the Jagannath University Central Students' Union (JnUCSU) election results continue to trickle in.
According to the results of 26 centres announced by the JnUCSU Election Commission at the time of filing this report, Md Riazul Islam from the Shibir-backed panel has secured 3,364 votes. His nearest rival, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD)-backed 'Oikoboddho Nirbheek Jobian' panel's VP aspirant AKM Rakib, follows with 3,013 votes.
Meanwhile, the Shibir-backed panel is also leading in the general secretary (GS) and assistant general secretary (AGS) races.
Shibir's GS candidate Abdul Alim Arif has bagged 3,489 votes, significantly ahead of JCD's Khadijatul Kubra, who has polled 1,379 votes so far.
In the AGS contest, Shibir's Masud Rana is leading with 3,106 votes against JCD candidate BM Atikur Rahman Tanjil's 2,677 votes.
The announcement of results began at the university's central auditorium this morning (7 January) following a night of technical complications.
Vote counting was suspended for nearly five hours last night (6 January) due to a mechanical fault in the counting machines.
Officials eventually resumed the process at 12:45am today, employing both manual and machine-based methods to verify the ballots.
Dept-wise performance
A centre-by-centre breakdown shows a see-saw battle between the two major panels across various departments. JCD's Rakib performed strongly in the Finance department with 231 votes, Botany with 216 votes, and Marketing with 187 votes. He also led in Philosophy (175), Public Administration (132), and Zoology (128).
Conversely, Shibir-backed Riazul Islam maintained a strong presence in Marketing (200), Finance (138), and Zoology (128). He also secured notable votes in Anthropology (128) and Public Administration (122).
In the GS race, Shibir's Abdul Alim Arif demonstrated wide-reaching support, topping the voting charts in Marketing (214), Finance (163), Zoology (154), and Botany (143).
However, Chhatra Dal's GS candidate Khadijatul Kubra's highest returns came from the Finance (113) and Philosophy (80) departments.
The AGS race remains competitive, with Shibir's Masud Rana leading in Marketing (195), Finance (163), and Public Administration (130). JCD's Tanjil stayed in contention with strong showings in Finance (178), Botany (138), and Anthropology (126).
Meanwhile, the Shibir-backed Panel suffered a crushing defeat in the Department of Music. The Shibir-backed panel failed to secure a single vote for the GS and AGS posts, while receiving only four votes for the VP position.
In contrast, candidates from the Chhatra Dal-backed Panel performed strongly in the same department. VP candidate Rakib received 125 votes, GS candidate Khadijatul secured 48 votes, and AGS candidate Tanjil obtained 108 votes.
The final outcome of the JnUCSU and Hall Sangsad polls is expected later today once all ballots are verified.
The election, the first of its kind at Jagannath University in years, has seen high student engagement despite the technical delays that pushed the results announcement into the following day.
