Meet Aishe Ghosh, CPM Candidate Contesting Bengal Election 2021

Who is Aishe Ghosh? Get to know the JNU leader, now CPI(M) candidate contesting the West Bengal polls, and what she stands for.

Aishe Ghosh, best known as the student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who was at the forefront of the institution's fee hike protests last year, will now be contesting assembly elections for the first time in West Bengal.

Announcing her candidature for the Jamuria constituency on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) ticket, Ghosh

Will be contesting from Jamuria Legislative Assembly Seat as candidate of the CPI(M) ,supported by the Sanyukt Morcha.

Requesting all of your support.#BengalElections2021 pic.twitter.com/bsxIdguIzH

— Aishe (ঐশী) (@aishe_ghosh) March 11, 2021 on Twitter earlier today, "Will be contesting from Jamuria Legislative Assembly Seat as candidate of the CPI(M) ,supported by the Sanyukt Morcha."

Will be contesting from Jamuria Legislative Assembly Seat as candidate of the CPI(M) ,supported by the Sanyukt Morcha.

Requesting all of your support.#BengalElections2021 pic.twitter.com/bsxIdguIzH

— Aishe (ঐশী) (@aishe_ghosh) March 11, 2021

Who Is Aishe Ghosh?

Ghosh hails from West Bengal and is the elder of two daughters. A member of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), a left-wing youth organisation aligned to the CPI(M), Ghosh currently serves as the president of the JNU Students' Union, a role to which she was elected in 2019. She is pursuing an MPhil degree at JNU and will be the first sitting president of JNUSU to contest polls. At 26, she is also among the youngest candidates CPI(M) is fielding in the state election.

Though recognised for more things than one, Ghosh was first thrust into the national spotlight during JNU's fee hike protests in 2020. When reformed policies and fee structures made JNU the costliest central university in India, Ghosh along with several other students was at the frontline of agitations demanding a rollback.

When the January 5 violence broke out in JNU allegedly by the student opposition Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a youth wing aligned to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ghosh was severely injured, having suffered a blow to her head. Photos of her bleeding profusely had provoked calls for action against campus violence.

In the aftermath, Ghosh addressed JNU students with a bandaged head, with actor Deepika Padukone standing by her in solidarity. A viral photo of Padukone folding her hands for Ghosh in support had taken the internet by storm. More about it here.

Never forget this image.

Deepika is folding hands infront of aishe ghosh who lead the violent mob in to JNU and beat the students who were registering for the semester !#LeftBehindJNUViolence @ShefVaidya @TajinderBagga @KapilMishra_IND #JNUTapes pic.twitter.com/pVjDF24wWE

— Saurabh Khamar (@Saurabhk4u) January 10, 2020

Get to know who is Aishe Ghosh

Ghosh has been a staunch critic of the right-wing ideology and the saffron party in power, especially in light of the JNU violence. She has actively partaken in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) across states as a notable face representing students. Ghosh has also rallied for women's safety and gender sensitisation, most prominently when JNU professor Atul Johri was accused of sexual harassment.