From a student leader to Bihar Assembly polls contestant, Dhananjay has come a long way

Months after completing his tenure as the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president, Dhananjay says his tenure, combined with his experiences as a migrant student in Delhi, has brought him to where he is today, contesting Bihar Assembly elections.

Originally from Gaya, Mr. Dhananjay became the first Dalit president in the JNUSU in 27 years, and is now contesting from the Bhorey (SC) constituency, which will go to the polls in Phase 1 on November 6.

Associated with the All India Students’ Union (AISA) since 2015, he is contesting from the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, a constituent of the INDIA bloc in Bihar. Mr. Dhananjay is up against Sunil Kumar from the JD(U), to whom the party had narrowly lost this seat in the last election by 462 votes.

While his journey into politics is heavily rooted in student politics, he does not conflate the two but addresses the similarities: “The people for whom I am in politics today, their children study in JNU. The issues in JNU were linked to what is happening back at home. On one hand, in JNU, we raise our voice for national and international issues. Here, there is class and caste, people struggling for two rotis…”

In 2024, he was elected JNUSU president. Whether it was understanding students’ problems and addressing their issues — ranging from mosquito infestations to the need for sanitary napkin vending machines — he says he learnt how to address people’s issues. “We would sit down and find solutions to address the questions. Being president, along with other experiences, has brought me here today,” he says.

Back in school, he would read newspapers and discuss issues with friends, but did not know much about the right or the left. When he came to the DU, he became associated with the AISA’s fight against the implementation of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP).

He studied his Bachelor’s from Delhi University, and his M.A. from Ambedkar University Delhi, and then his M.Phil and now his Ph.D from JNU’s School of Arts and Aesthetics.

His experiences as a student was what eventually pulled him in: “As migrant students, the situation at home might not be great, we didn’t speak good English and we were left behind in many aspects, be it social, economic or cultural. We wanted to speak up but hesitated due to our class and caste status.” He added that the AISA represented such students, which is what connected him to the organisation.

Mr. Dhananjay’s interest in theatre developed along with his politics over the years. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D thesis on Mushaira as a performance art, where he explores the idea of secularism in Mushaira and how it is changing under the current political scenario.

Domicile policy

While student issues feature in his campaign, there are other issues which he wants to address if elected. Speaking about the domicile policy in school teachers’ appointment, which will give priority to youth who have studied in the State, he says that because of its proximity to Uttar Pradesh, many students from Bhorey go out to study. “What about those people who did not study here because of the bad state of education, like myself. Will they not get jobs?”

Other issues he wants to address include debt relief up to ₹2 lakh for women who have taken loans from microfinance institutions, and compensation for farmers whose crops have been damaged due to natural disasters.

His father is a retired policeman and his mother is a homemaker. During his tenure as JNUSU president, he worked on issues such as the reinstatement of JNU’s internal entrance examination, infrastructural and hostel issues, and for revoking a manual that imposes strict fines on students for protesting, among other issues. He was on a 16-day hunger strike for the same, which was called off after the administration accepted some of their demands.