ABVP candidate becomes 1st woman prez of Patna varsity students' union

Patna, Mar 30 (PTI) Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's candidate Maithily Mrinalini has been elected as president of the Patna University Students' Union (PUSU), becoming the first woman to have done so in the history of the varsity which is over a century old.
    The polls were held on Saturday, and the counting of votes took place till late at night.
    The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) candidate beat her nearest NSUI rival Manoranjan Kumar, comfortably, despite the Jan Suraaj Party of Prashant Kishor withdrawing its nominee in favour of the latter.
    The National Students' Union of India (NSUI), however, clinched the post of treasurer, with Saumya Shrivastava defeating ABVP's Om Prakash Yadav.Independent candidate Saloni Raj beat ABVP's Ankit Kumar to become the general secretary.
    Notably, all three winning candidates are students of Patna Women's College.
    Another Independent candidate who won was Dhiraj Kumar. He had contested for the post of vice president.
    "I see it as a victory of democracy over money and muscle power," Mrinalini, who is also the first ABVP candidate in more than a decade to become the PUSU president, told reporters.
    "My priority will be to ensure better facilities for boys and girls in libraries and labs besides promoting an environment conducive to academic excellence," she said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)