So well played was this strategy and so strong the propaganda that even non- left parties like NSUI and ABVP immediately pledged support in a scene straight out of C grade Soviet propaganda movie “Alexander Nevsky”. Grand deception had succeeded. How easily even the most educated electorate in the country can be taken for a ride! All the voice of reason that there was in fact “no Ban “ drowned in the clamor of comrades. In reality, it was a voluntary moratorium by JNU students until the legal appeal in Supreme Court for exemptions from Lyngdoh guidelines reached any conclusion. But this game benefited AISA in two ways. Firstly, according to JNU constitution, it ensured that the incumbent JNUSU, ie. AISA ruled JNUSU will be in power till next elections are conducted. Secondly, it caused de-politicisation of the campus as in absence of elections, political mobilisation and campaigning suffered a decline. As we have seen that all parties but AISA were already greatly weakened after mid-2000 so they suffered a greater erosion of their cadre and support base. AISA too suffered a regression in its ideological appeal but it’s already seen that it had anyways shifted to open caste and communal politics. It had maintained its mobilisation drive throughout this period while other parties struggled to make sense of the situation. Further, it remained in power for three years and became the only known ‘active’ party for the vast majority of new students. Elections were resumed in 2012 (it had two elections-one interim election in March and the other one on September) after a single concession on age limit of two years for JNU being a post graduate institute. Also, the voices of discontent against ‘permanent JNUSU’ were becoming stronger. In the election, AISA steamrolled all others which surprised many. And since then its winning streak by brute majority seems unstoppable.

