Aligarh. The results of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student union elections, held after a gap of eight years, were declared on Friday. Research scholar Noman Ashraf won the post of president, while law student Nashra Naeem created history by becoming the first woman to be elected to one of the three major posts of the student union.
B.Tech student Mohammad Hamdan was elected Honorary Secretary. With this, the results of all three major posts were revealed. Counting of votes continued throughout the night on Thursday at AMU’s ABK School campus and the results were declared on Friday morning. Voting was held at 13 polling stations on 5 November.
Noman Ashraf, research scholar of the History Department, won the election for the post of President by getting 7,797 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Mohammad Intekhab by a margin of 4,121 votes. As his victory was confirmed in the final round of counting, his supporters started celebrating. Slogans were raised and crackers were burst in the campus.
Commenting on their victory, newly elected president Noman Ashraf said, “After a long struggle of eight years, we have finally got this opportunity, and it is a very happy moment. You can see the excitement and enthusiasm among the students here.”
B.Tech student Mohammad Hamdan was victorious in the election for the post of Secretary. After winning the elections, he said that with this victory came a huge responsibility, and assured to fulfill the promises made to the students. Hamdan said, “With such a big victory comes an even bigger responsibility, and I will do my best to live up to it. I will do my best and work wholeheartedly to fulfill all the promises I have made.”
The most important result of this election was for the post of Vice President, where law student Nashra Naeem created history. She became the first woman in the history of AMU Student Union elections to win any of the three major posts of President, Vice President and Secretary.
Seven candidates were in the fray for the post of Vice President. Nayeem had a tough fight with Saqib Ali Khan, but in the last round of counting, he took the lead and won. Describing his success as the result of collective efforts, Naeem said, “I believe that achieving this position in such a short time, with limited resources and a small team was possible because of the dedication, courage and honesty of the people associated with us.”
He stressed on redefining leadership and addressing the long-standing concerns of the student community of the university. He further said, “I think leadership needs to be redefined. Many issues have come up in the last eight years, and even before that, when the student union was active, we had heard about many challenges.” Naeem described his victory as the victory of the entire student community and said that he has started a new journey with a special vision. He expressed hope that this trend will continue in future also. With these elections, the electoral process of AMU Students Union has been restored after a gap of eight years. After the results, an atmosphere of celebration was seen among the students in the entire campus.