NEW DELHI: After a dismal performance in 2015 in Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls followed by a two-year hiatus, the Aam Aadmi Party’s students’ wing — the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) — is back in fray.
The announcement was made by AAP minister Gopal Rai after an event at DU’s North Campus. The party has taken a U-turn from its earlier stand on not contesting election due to the university’s no-compliance with the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations.
The CYSS plans to drive the agenda of its poll plank around the work done by its government in the last three years while in power. “We realised getting into the system was the only way to change the system and so we are contesting these elections. Many likeminded students are joining us. The AAP government has allocated 26 per cent of its annual budget for the education department, which is way more than any other state across the country so we will highlight this in our manifesto,” said Sumit Yadav, President of Delhi unit of CYSS.
This time around the speculations are rife that AAP plans to side with the All India Student Union (AISA) and Student Federation of India (SFI) in the DUSU polls. However, the student wing has denied any such move. The stakes in the DUSU polls are high as they are closer to the General Assembly elections in 2019. The National Students Union of India (NSUI) which holds three of the four positions of the student union has already formulated a five-member screening committee to look for probable candidates.
The student union polls considered a breeding ground for the next generation of politicians is going to witness a fierce three-way battle in the coming days. While Congress’s National Student Union of Student’s was the first one to start campaigning, the CYSS and right wings’ Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have started campaigning in prominent colleges. The CYSS is hoping to gain advantage in the absence of a tangible third front in Delhi University.