The general secretary of the JNU students’ union has left the CPIML Liberation’s All India Students Association to join the Samajwadi Party’s student arm, scripting an unheard-of ideological defection by an incumbent students’ union office-bearer at the university.

Satish Chandra Yadav, who is from Maharajganj – an area in Uttar Pradesh where the CPIML Liberation is active — has been appointed national secretary and spokesperson for the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha (SCS), which lacks a foothold in Delhi.

Former JNU student leaders have been known to change ideological loyalties — the most recent instance being one-time students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar’s switch from the CPI to the Congress — but these happened after their student days were over.

The current union, elected in 2019, has continued to function after its term ended in 2020 since the pandemic has prevented the conduct of elections.

A source said Satish had shunned suggestions from the CPIML Liberation — which has met Samajwadi president Akhilesh Yadav for an alliance — to contest from Maharajganj.

In his resignation letter to the All India Students Association (Aisa), Satish said he wished to “fight fascism” in Uttar Pradesh and had no differences with Aisa.

In a statement on January 15, Aisa working general secretary Prasenjeet Kumar accepted Satish’s resignation rather than expelling him, as Kanhaiya was from the CPI.

Satish told The Telegraph that he wanted to contribute to “crushing the BJP’s arrogance in Uttar Pradesh the way Trinamul did in Bengal (last year)”.

Asked about his political ambitions and the reasons for his defection, he said: “We experienced fascism and authoritarian behaviour of the government first-hand as activists at JNU. I want to take what I have learnt so far to fight the anti-people BJP in Uttar Pradesh, as these elections will affect the future of India.”

He added: “After the campaign, I shall return to JNU and fulfil my responsibilities (in the students’ union) until elections are held.”

Satish is a PhD scholar at JNU’s Centre for the Study of Regional Development.

Pooja Shukla, former vice-president of Aisa’s Uttar Pradesh unit, joined the Samajwadi Party in 2018 and went on to lead its student wing.

Three recent JNU students’ union presidents from Aisa — Sandeep Singh, Akbar Chawdhary and Mohit Pandey —are now with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.

Tabrez Hasan, who was JNU students’ union joint secretary in 2016-17 as an Aisa member, is now with the Janata Dal United in Bihar.

Shakeel Ahmad Khan, Batti Lal Bairwa and Syed Nasser Hussain — who were JNU students’ union presidents in the 1990s and were all from CPM student arm SFI — are now with the Congress. Khan is an MLA and Hussain an MP.

D.P. Tripathi of the SFI, who was jailed during the Emergency when he was JNU students’ union president, went on to join the Congress and later the Nationalist Congress Party. None made the switch while active in student politics.

“The times are different now as the fight against the BJP has become the main focus,” a former JNU students’ union president told this newspaper.

Another former students’ union president at the varsity said: “Kanhaiya’s defection has given false hopes to many student leaders.”

Satish’s defection comes as a blow to Aisa, which had to concede the JNU students’ union president’s post to the SFI in 2019 after holding the position for 13 years.