Ashoka University’s political data center board disbands following the founder’s departure

The Trivedi Centre for Political Data at Ashoka University has witnessed the dissolution of its scientific board, which claims that its founder and director, Gilles Verniers, was compelled to depart from his role.

However, Ashoka University has stated that Verniers’ departure is a result of his failure to meet the rigorous criteria for continued employment. The scientific board included prominent members such as former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, Christophe Jaffrelot of King’s College London, Francesca Jensenius from the University of Oslo, Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and others. Following his departure from Ashoka University, where he served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science, Verniers has assumed the role of Karl Loewenstein Visiting Fellow at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

This development comes in the wake of controversy at the university, triggered by the resignation of Assistant Professor Sabyasachi Das due to a dispute over his research paper. The paper argued that the BJP secured an excessive share of closely contested parliamentary seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, particularly in states where the party held power at the time.