Left-Ambedkarite-Tribal alliance sweeps HCU polls, cultural secretary result on hold

The Left-Ambedkarite-Tribal alliance swept every major post in the University of Hyderabad (HCU) students' union elections, with vote counting stretching into the early hours of Tuesday, September 30, until nearly 4 am, as the university administration halted the final cultural secretary result amid a dispute with the ABVP.

The alliance, comprising All India Students Association, Ambedkar Students Association, the Dalit Students Union, Students Federation of India and the Tribal Students Front, won the president, vice-president, general secretary, joint secretary and cultural secretary posts, losing only the sports secretary seat to the ABVP.

SFI's Dilshada Raihan defeated ABVP's Naresh P for president by more than 400 votes. For vice-president, Kora Nithin Chauhan of the Tribal Students Front beat ABVP's Barsharani Behera by over 200 votes. Pratik Sagar of the ASA won the general secretary post against ABVP's Venisa Choudhary, while Siddhant Shaswat of AISA secured joint secretary against ABVP's Sapthagiri by more than 300 votes.

The cultural secretary race was the tightest and most contentious of the night. Abhinash Kumar of the ASA was leading ABVP's Madhur Dhingra by just five votes in the final round, in a contest that stayed neck-and-neck through the count. The result has not been declared. The ABVP demanded a recount, and the dispute escalated into a scuffle between supporters of the two sides on campus. Amid the tension, the Election Commission did not announce the result and instead handed it over to the university's Dean of Student Welfare (DSW), leaving the final call to the DSW and the Registrar. The standoff saw heavy sloganeering and name-calling between both camps through the night.

The ABVP's only win came in the sports secretary contest, where its candidate, Banoth Sai, narrowly edged out Williyemkery by a margin of about 100 votes. The NSUI's Swati put up a strong fight in the same race, polling more than 1,000 votes.

With the cultural secretary result still undeclared, the Left-Ambedkarite-Tribal alliance is planning a sit-in protest at the administrative building, demanding the university announce the result without further delay. The ABVP, meanwhile, continues to push for a recount in the contested race.