The AMU Students’ Union for 2017-18 was elected on 11 December 2017, with Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani as President, Sajad Subhan Rathor as Vice-President and Mohammad Fahad as Honorary Secretary. Usmani, a BDS student from Darbhanga in Bihar, won by 6,719 votes.
AMUSU 2017-18 office-bearers
AMUSU 2017 election result
Polling was held on Monday, 11 December 2017, and counting started soon after under tight security. Results came the same night.
| Post | Winner | Votes | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani (BDS) | 9,071 | Ajay Singh, 2,352 | 6,719 |
| Vice-President | Sajad Subhan Rathor | 5,711 | Aijaz Ahmed, 2,605 | 3,106 |
| Honorary Secretary | Mohammad Fahad (MA EBM) | 4,008 | Adnan Amir, 3,664 | 344 |
- Abu Baqr finished third in the presidential race with 2,192 votes.
- Ajay Singh was reported as the first non-Muslim candidate for the top post in AMUSU history.
- Six candidates contested Vice-President and five contested Honorary Secretary.
- The three winners came from three different states: Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh (Fahad is from Kasganj).
The Jinnah portrait row, May 2018
This union faced the biggest controversy of its term in May 2018. Aligarh BJP MP Satish Gautam demanded removal of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrait from the Students’ Union hall, where it had hung since Jinnah was made a life member in 1938. On 2 May 2018, activists entered the campus over the issue, police used tear gas and lathis on protesting students, and an AMU event with former Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari was cancelled. Usmani said AMU students were in no way defending Jinnah or his portrait.
Mashkoor Usmani after AMU
Usmani contested the 2020 Bihar Assembly election as the Congress candidate from Jale in Bihar and finished second with 65,580 votes. Read more famous AMU alumni.
What happened during the 2017-18 union
- 16 December 2017: The union was installed at the University Athletics Ground. VC Prof. Tariq Mansoor presided and announced a 1,500-seat girls’ hostel among other projects. (Ummid.com)
- March 2018: The union was divided over President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to the convocation. Usmani welcomed the visit, while Vice-President Rathor sought an apology for a 2010 remark. (The Quint)
- March 2018: The union gave life membership to activist Teesta Setalvad, reported as its first to a woman in 35 years. (Wikipedia, citing The Times of India)
- 2 May 2018: On the day former Vice-President Hamid Ansari was to receive life membership, outsiders entered the campus over the Jinnah portrait, and police lathi-charged and used tear gas on protesting students. Usmani and Secretary Fahad were among those injured, and the ceremony was cancelled. (The Tribune)
- 3-8 May 2018: The union called a class boycott and students sat in at the gate demanding arrests and a judicial probe. Exams were postponed to 12 May, and on 8 May the VC backed the demand for a judicial inquiry. (Outlook)
- 6 August 2018: In a Lok Sabha reply, the government said AMU had told it the union stood dissolved and that only a newly elected union could decide on the portrait. (Lok Sabha)
News from this union
Previous union: AMUSU 2016-17 (Faizul Hasan). Next union: AMUSU 2018-19 (Salman Imtiaz). See every union on the AMUSU page.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the AMUSU president in 2017-18?
Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani, a BDS student from Darbhanga, Bihar, was elected AMUSU President on 11 December 2017.
How many votes did Mashkoor Usmani get?
Mashkoor Usmani got 9,071 votes and won by 6,719 votes over Ajay Singh, who got 2,352.
Who was the AMUSU vice-president in 2017?
Sajad Subhan Rathor won Vice-President with 5,711 votes.
What was the AMU Jinnah portrait row?
In May 2018 a BJP MP demanded removal of Jinnah’s 1938 portrait from the Students’ Union hall. Clashes followed on 2 May 2018 and police used tear gas and lathis on students.
Photo of Mohammad Fahad: Ummid.com. Photo of Sajad Subhan Rathor: Ummid.com. Photo of Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani: Marghoob2018, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped. Sources: Ummid.com, 12 December 2017; Wikipedia: Maskoor Usmani; The Wire, 2 May 2018.