HCU polls 2026 : Left-Ambedkarite alliance eyes comeback

On September 28 students at the University of Hyderabad (HCU) will elect their student union. In the lead up to the student union election, the Left-Ambedkarite-Tribal has formed an alliance. They seek to reclaim the student union from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The results are due the following day, September 29. 

Up until 2019, the university had been a stronghold for both the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA). Both student bodies contested together, however, that changed in 2025. Both bodies contesting seperately helped the ABVP to win at the university for the first time. 

Cut to 2026, both SFI and ASA are back to a single alliance, with the All India Students' Association (AISA) playing a key part in bringing them together.

The contest comes weeks after the Delhi University Students' Union polls in September,which saw the ABVP win the president, secretary and joint secretary positions. 

Speaking to the Pioneer, Dayanidhi the ASA president at HCU said the campus poll results in Hyderabad would not follow the Delhi result. "Many people were with them (ABVP) earlier. Now they are going away. People are changing their views seeing paper leaks and infrastructural issues like the building collapse," he said. "DU politics is different from HCU politics, so we are hopeful here."

ASA's main fight is over TSEPASS, the Telangana portal for scholarships and fee reimbursement, which he said concerns "a lot of ST, SC students" on campus. On joining hands with the Left, he said: "We are not left and not right. Ambedkarite politics has a clear stance regarding the marginalised. Defeating ABVP is the need of the hour."

SFI's Ashika VM said the ABVP's Delhi win should not be read across. "DU elections are loud. Money, power and violence happen, still the number against ABVP has grown. It is a collection of colleges, not a united space," she said, adding that polling there stays below 50 per cent.

On HCU, Ashika is of the view that the death of Rohit Vemula has led to a strong anto caste movement which is now part of Universities history. Her campaign seeks the Rohith Vemula Act in Telangana and on campus, and affordable food, as mess charges rose by over Rs 15 a day in a year of ABVP-led union. "Last election we couldn't win. This year we will try to regain faith," she said.

Student groups representing the muslim community however allege their demands were ignored by the SFI-ASA-Tribal student alliance. Fraternity Movement president Minhaj Jamal said his organisation and the Muslim Students Front sought a broader alliance with the SFI. "These demands were ignored," he said, calling it "an unethical political act." He added that Muslims face discrimination, violence, exclusion, and political hostility is an issue that can’t wait when compared to the issues of a water cooler or a tap.

The SFI, on the other hand, rejected the charge. Ashika said "All the parties in the alliance took this decision, so why is the blame only towards SFI? It is politically motivated," she said. She noted the alliance has given three women places on its panel, and that the SFI has repeatedly given executive posts to Muslim leaders. "All the people who led the CJP protest are coming together. That's the message we are giving."

The ABVP, allied with the Sevalal Vidyarthi Dal, was unavailable for comment. The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) leads a third alliance with the Fraternity Movement, the Muslim Students Front and the Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU).