Speaking to Ifrah Mufti, national media convener, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Ashutosh Singh discusses issues concerning the university and students, election agenda, challenges and campaigning in the run-up to the DUSU polls.
Excerpts:
What are your priorities for the elections?
Our priority is to ensure that the infrastructure of Delhi University, especially the classrooms and hostels which are crumbling, is improved. The ongoing projects related to infrastructure should be completed within the stipulated time.
What is the agenda of the students’ union for the students?
Our focus will be to arrange maximum hostel facilities, especially for women, in DU. After COVID, the rent has soared in Delhi which has impacted the students. We will try to make campuses safer and better places for women. We are also committed to ending discrimination on basis of caste, race, religion or language. ABVP has stood firm that fees for colleges should not be a burden on students. We will also make sure that academic activities such as completing courses, examinations and result publication is without delay.
What are the challenges this year with the elections happening after three years?
Around 90% of the students in DU will be voting for the very first time. We are trying to reach the maximum number of students and making them aware about the working of students’ union and how it plays a vital role in their academic life. Besides traditional ways of approaching student voters, meeting and hearing their issues, we are trying to reach out through social media in online campaigns, posts and reels to reach maximum students with our agendas.