NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) student wing, the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), will make its debut in the upcoming Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, aiming to “free campus politics from money and muscle power.”
AAP Delhi state convener Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Friday that the initiative is focused on providing support to deserving students from ordinary backgrounds that often face financial barriers to contesting the elections. Applications for candidates will be accepted from August 15 to 25. Applicants must submit a one-minute video, a 500-word statement of purpose, and obtain 50 proposers for DUSU elections or 10 for college-level polls.
“ASAP’s mission is to promote clean politics and democracy from the grassroots,” said Bharadwaj. “We want students to choose integrity over money and muscle power.”
In a press conference, Bharadwaj drew parallels between India’s freedom struggle and current political challenges.
“Leaders like Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Patel fought for a democracy where people could choose their governments freely. But flaws have crept into our democracy, starting from student politics,” he said, likening it to the collapse of the food chain when poison enters at the base.
Bharadwaj further explained that student union elections serve as young people’s first direct experience with democracy. “Delhi University, one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, shapes not only Delhi’s political outlook but the country’s as well.”
Eligibility criteria for candidates include obtaining support from 10 students at the college level or 50 students from at least five colleges for DUSU. “This is a model political process that aims to protect students’ idealism from being swayed by freebies or lavish parties,” he added.