New Delhi: Students of Delhi University (DU) are all set to elect the governing body of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). Polling begins for morning colleges at 8 am on Tuesday and polls close at 12 pm. For evening colleges, on the other hand, polls open at 2 pm and close at 7 pm. For all students, their polling booths will be at their respective colleges and departments.
ABVP eyes fifth straight win
In 2013, the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) upset the apple cart in DU by dislodging the Congress student wing National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) from its old bastion. A “win” in the DUSU elections is defined as winning at least three out of four seats. That year, ABVP won the posts of President, Vice President and Joint Secretary. The NSUI, on the other hand, won the Secretary post. In 2014, the ABVP performed better by sweeping all four seats for the first time in 18 years. The last time ABVP had managed this feat was in 1996, which was followed by a decade-long spell of NSUI dominance.
This time, however, the ABVP did not lose form. It repeated its clean sweep in 2015 and won three seats in 2016. This year, the saffron student outfit is eyeing a fifth straight win. “ABVP has become popular among students because we stand with them and fight for their issues. When the Congress government was planning to introduce the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) in DU, we were out on the streets protesting against their anti-student policies. We forced the government to roll it back. Since then, students have seen that ABVP stands with them. We are confident of winning a fifth term in DUSU,” said ABVP National Media convenor Saket Bahuguna.
ABVP faced a setback a week before the polls when they got to know that the ballot number of their Presidential candidate Rajjat Chaudhary was being changed from number 5 to 8. Bahuguna, however, said it was unlikely to affect their chances of winning.
NSUI hopes to make comeback
The last time the NSUI swept the DUSU polls was ten years ago in 2007. Since then, it has mostly been a downward spiral, except for 2012 when it won three seats. The protests against the FYUP and the dwindling fortunes of its parent organization the Congress, from which the NSUI cannot delink itself, has caused its downfall in DU.
An NSUI activist, on the condition of anonymity, said, “DU used to be our bastion but for a lot of reasons, it has slipped from our grasp. ABVP workers often go to classrooms and privately denounce the BJP. But we never did that with the Congress. So when false promises by Modi diminished the image of the Congress, it hurt us too. Besides, NSUI had been neglecting its cadre for too long. This year, however, we have made amends. We are confident that we will win at least three out of four seats. For the fourth seat, there will be tough competition with the ABVP but we may just sweep DUSU.”
Will AISA make a dent?
While NSUI and ABVP have ruled DU alternatively, none have been able to break this bipolar hegemony. Publically, both parties claim that the left-leaning All India Students’ Association (AISA) has no standing in this election, privately, they admit to their rising stock. A senior ABVP activist said, “AISA has a lot of silent support. After the Ramjas violence last year, the only two parties on the streets were ABVP and AISA. We were diametrically opposed to each other but at least both parties were out. NSUI was nowhere to be seen. That is why I think some of the NSUI vote will transfer to AISA. However, it won’t be enough to help them win. If anything, it will help ABVP.”
However, according to AISA DU Chief Kanwalpreet Kaur, the party hopes to break the bipolar nexus. “Students of the university are fed up of the money-muscle power politics of the ABVP and NSUI. We want a violence free campus and that is one of our main planks. NSUI and ABVP are two sides of the same coin. Students are looking for an alternative and this time, AISA will offer it to them.”
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