The countdown to the Delhi University students’ body has begun and apparently, the University campus in the city, including all colleges, is in the midst of poll fever. While some parties are still pondering over forging alliances, others are busy setting agendas, releasing manifestos and finalising the list of potential candidates who will be contesting the elections.
The university can be seen all covered with party posters, stickers and pamphlets – on the roads, on the walls and on poles.
The Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Monday zeroed in on 10 probable candidates each for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.
The student outfits said they will soon decide their final four candidates for the September 27 polls, for which the campaigning has picked up pace with posters of probable candidates coming up across the university’s north campus.
The elections for DUSU for the 2024-25 academic year will be held on September 27, as per the schedule announced by the university. Students can submit their nominations for the DUSU polls by September 19. Candidates wishing to withdraw their nominations may do so by 12 noon on September 18, with the final list of contesting candidates to be published by 5 pm on the same day. For the DUSU central panel elections, nomination papers must be submitted at the office of Chief Election Officer Satyapal Singh, located on the North Campus.
What is DUSU?
The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) serves as the representative body for students from most of the colleges and faculties within Delhi University. Additionally, each individual college has its own students’ union, with elections held annually. These student elections are highly competitive and generate significant enthusiasm. Many former DUSU office-bearers have gone on to hold public office at both state and central levels.
How are elections conducted?
DUSU elections are conducted through direct voting by students from the university and its affiliated colleges, typically held between August and September each year.
When will elections be held?
The polls will be conducted on September 27. The votes will be counted on September 28. Voting will take place for daytime classes between 8.30 am and 1 pm, and for evening classes from 3 pm to 7:30 pm, as per the official schedule.
DUSU 2023: Winners
Last year, the RSS-affiliated ABVP won three central panel positions, including the presidency, while the Congress’ student wing, NSUI, secured the vice presidency. The elections were held after a gap of three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ABVP’s candidates, Tushar Dedha, Aprajita and Sachin Bainsla, won president, secretary and joint secretary post, respectively, while Abhi Dahiya of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) won the vice-president post in the 2023 DUSU elections.
The last DUSU elections before 2023 were held in 2019. Polls were not held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, while possible disruptions to the academic calendar prevented the 2022 elections.
The voter turnout in the past
The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections, held on September 22 last year after a gap of almost four years, witnessed a voter turnout of 42 per cent.
Professor Chander Shekhar, the then chief election officer for the polls, had said that the voting percentage showed an increase from the previous DUSU elections in 2019 when it stood at 39.9%. However, it fell short of surpassing the nearly 11-year-high figure recorded in 2018. The turnouts in the years 2018 and 2017 were reported to be at 44.4% and 42.8% respectively.
Elections going green
As per the code of conduct, DU has made some arrangements to keep the elections paperless as much as possible.
To keep the elections paper-free, the university has asked the contesting candidates to upload the election-related material in designated space created on the DU website by the varsity’s Computer Centre. Also, the candidates can submit an electoral speech in a video clipping, not exceeding ten minutes, to the office of the chief election officer by September 19 by 5 pm.
This would be uploaded on the DU website after the approval of the chief election officer.
Besides, the code of conduct guidelines set by the University of Delhi also states that no candidate shall be permitted to make use of printed posters, printed pamphlets, or any other printed material for the purpose of canvassing. Candidates may use social media or handmade posters for the purpose of canvassing votes, in accordance with NGT order. However, the handmade posters can only be put up at certain designated places on the campus, which shall be notified in advance by the college/university authority.
However, on September 13, when NSUI and Students’ Federation Of India (SFI) held separate rallies ‘Save DU campaign’ and ‘Chhatr Adikar Rally’, respectively, on the campus, both student organisations were seen using printed materials for their respective election campaigns and distributing pamphlets to the student voters.
No AAP’s student wing in election race
Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, has yet again decided to withdraw its name from the race to avoid any ‘splitting of votes’ on the day of election.
The CYSS has officially announced that it will not be contesting in the upcoming Delhi University Student Union (DUSU) elections. Instead, CYSS will be extending its support to candidates who have the capability to defeat the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad).
Sadiq Raza, State Vice President of CYSS Delhi, stated, “Our primary objective in these elections is to ensure that capable candidates who can challenge and defeat the ABVP are supported. ABVP has consistently proven to be an anti-student and anti-national organisation, dividing students on the basis of caste and religion. We believe that such divisive tactics have no place in our educational institutions.”
“We are not in this for the numbers. We are here to support the best candidates who can bring about positive change and represent the student body effectively. The students of Delhi University deserve leaders who will prioritise their needs above all else,” added Raza.
The poll planks
While there are some commonalities between ABVP and NSUI’s promises, the left-wing student bodies, AISA and SFI, have kept themselves restricted to mainly women’s safety on campuses. Let’s take a look at what issues each of them are fighting about.
ABVP: According to ABVP National Secretary Shivangi Kharwal, “Issues like infrastructural development to meet present-day needs of the students by building new hostels, libraries, etc, and other issues like reforms in the syllabus and curriculum, one course-one fees not putting a financial burden on the students, women safety etc will be prioritised during DUSU elections.”
NSUI: “The core issues for us will be Metro Concession Pass, Hostel for All, one course- one fee, opposing fee hikes, free Wi-Fi on campus, 24x7 library access for all, uniform fee structure across all courses, ensuring affordability for every student, alongside increased hostel accommodations and access to academic resources like libraries round the clock,” shared Honey Bagga, National Secretary NSUI.
AISA: Abhigyan, AISA’s state president, stated, “This time, in the wake of RG Kar and many other cases of sexual violence, we have made it our goal to instate ICCs in all colleges. DU has exemplified the culture
of sexual violence and harassment that plagues our society and through our campaign, we are mobilising students against this rape culture in DU.”
SFI: “The demand for a safe campus is one of the core ones among that. The campus is highly unsafe for women and other gender minorities and the institutional mechanisms such as ICC are not functioning at all. One another core issue SFI will be rallying around will be the withdrawal of the compulsory attendance policy for the SEC and VAC classes due to which pressure upon the students is increasing and students who want to invest their time into extra-curricular activities are not being able to do so,” Sooraj Elamon, the SFI’s Delhi head, said.
No alliance among Left parties
Even when the All India Students Association (AISA) of Delhi University has been making an appeal to all student organisations to contest the election together to wipe out ABVP, no single organisation is ready to come forward to form an alliance. In the past so many years, even the left parties have refused to contest the elections together in DU unlike in JNU where they come together to fight.
Commenting on this, AISA’s Abhigyan said, “It’s not that we don’t want to contest the election together but the student organisations have their own agendas. We have been making appeals to all student organisations to fight together to wipe out ABVP from the campus but no one wants to be on the same page. We had sent proposals to the NSUI as well and even SFI but nothing could be finalised.”
Meanwhile, Elamon said, “As a national organisation, we are always open to discussions. We don’t want to run away from any sort of alliance. It is just that we are trying to formulate things. I also believe that alliance is a necessity considering the current political scenario. Soon we will have discussions with the other student outfits and will update.”
Past Voting Percentages
In the 2023 DUSU elections, according to Professor Chander Shekhar, the then chief election officer for the polls, the voting percentage showed an increase from the previous DUSU elections in 2019 when it stood at 39.9%. However, it fell short of surpassing the nearly 11-year-high figure recorded in 2018. The turnouts in the years 2018 and 2017 were reported to be at 44.4% and 42.8% respectively.
IMPORTANT DATES
Last date for receipt of nomination
papers along with demand draft of `500 and affidavit: Thursday, September 19 till 3 pm
Scrutiny of Nomination papers: Thursday, September 19 till 3:15 pm
Publication of list of duly Nominated Candidates: Thursday, September 19 till 6 pm
Last date for Withdrawal of nominations: Friday, September 20 till 12 noon
Publication of final list of candidates: Friday, September 20 till 5 pm
Date of election: Friday, September 27
Timings of voting: Day classes: 08:30 AM to 01:00 PM; Evening classes: 03:00 PM to 07:30 PM
Counting of votes : Saturday, September 28 at Police Lines
1 Paper-FREE polls
To keep the elections paper-free, the university has asked the contesting candidates to upload the election-related material in designated space created on the Delhi University’s website by the varsity’s Computer Centre
2 Going digital
The candidates can submit an electoral speech in a video clipping, not exceeding ten minutes, to the office of the chief election officer by September 19 by 5 pm. This would be uploaded on the DU website after the approval of the chief election officer
3 AN EXCEPTION
Candidates can use handmade posters for the purpose of canvassing votes. However, the handmade posters can only be put up at designated places on the campus, which shall be notified in advance by the college/university authority.