An election at JNU

By the time the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) presidential candidate, Mukesh Kumar Mishra, rises to speak at the 18 October debate of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union (JNUSU), it is already 11 pm and the candidates of the Congress and Samajwadi (SP) parties' student wings have had their turn. The audience, a thousand students spilling out of a maroon tent on a patch of lawn between two hostels, includes several hundred party backers sitting in blocks chanting down one another or flailing Mukesh.

Once he starts, it quickly becomes clear that Mukesh is not a gripping orator, even though his height gives him a stage presence. To make matters worse for him, students affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) launch into several rounds of jeering as he tries to find his stride. His voice suddenly becomes choppy; spectators see him gesture and move his mouth, but no sound comes out of the speakers. The audio system has failed partially, and comes back momentarily before going out completely. Election workers scurry about to investigate and repair, and a confused Mukesh retakes his seat on stage. The presidential debate on hold, the audience turns its attention back on itself.