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Know your parties- DUSU Elections 2015

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Still haven’t decided your vote? Here’s a little insight into the parties contesting for Delhi Union Students’ Union election 2015.

ABVP – can they do another 2014?

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the only major right-wing representation in DU’s political pitch. ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and shares nationalist ideologies with the Bharatiya Janata Party. ABVP has presided over DUSU 22 times since the establishment of the students’ union. Riding on the anti-Congress mood of the nation, ABVP clean swept the DUSU polls last year with a decisive margin.

Past activities and stands

The party took an offensive stand against the Four Year Undergraduate Programme in 2013 and in 2014, after the election of a BJP government in the centre and a full-blown tussle between the University Grants Commission and the University of Delhi, FYUP was rolled back by DU. ABVP is known to be anti-homosexuality and an opponent of live-in relationships. In October last year, ABVP formed a human chain in the University to “sensitise students about the menace of live-in relationships”. ABVP’s karyakartas also locked horns with rival party All India Students’ Association in November over Kiss of Love, a movement against moral-policing supported by AISA.

ABVP has raised several issues pertaining to DU students in the past, including reintroduction of the schemes of revaluation and ‘special chance’. After Arvind Kejriwal’s successful bid for Delhi’s Chief Ministerial post, ABVP office bearers met with the CM to discuss issues related to the University.
DU Beat’s DUSU Opinion Shows ABVP to be winning by a small margin. Read more here.

Candidates for 2015 

ABVP has fielded the Joint Secretary of its Delhi chapter, Satender Awana, for the post of the President. He is presently pursuing M.A. Buddhist Studies. Sunny Dedha, a student of the Faculty of Law, is contesting for the post of Vice President. Anjali Rana, a student of history at Lakshmi Bai College, is the party’s pick for the post of the Secretary of DUSU whereas for the post of Joint Secretary, Chhatar Pal Yadav has filed his nomination. The ballot numbers for the ABVP panel are 1, 1, 4 and 4.

AISA – Gunning for #1

The All India Students’ Association emerged as a galvanising force in 1990 grounding itself on the ideology of the Naxalbari peasant movement and the 1974 peoples’ movement in Bihar. The organisation believes that Marxism can liberate the society and can lead to human emancipation. Its critical stand towards ‘fascism’ and political forces that divide masses on religious lines is what inspires belief in its members.

Past Activities and Stands


The organisation’s support for the labour rights and the working class has been both evident and lauded by many left scholars.It has also been at the forefront of the movement against criminalisation of politics.

AISA has voiced its dissent whenever instances of privatisation in the realm of education have germinated in the country. It has been vocal against the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. The liberal nature of this organisation and its structure, which is devoid of communal elements, has attracted the attention of many civil society members. In the 2014 DUSU elections, the organisation came as the third force after both the parties.

Candidates for 2015

For 2015, Sheetal Bhopal of Hindu College is contesting for the post of President. Sudhanshu Shekhar of Sri Aurobindo College has been pitched for the Vice-Presidential post. Ravi Kumar of Ramjas College and Abhinav Kumar of Deshbandhu College are contesting for the positions of Secretary and Joint Secretary respectively.

CYSS- The Newbie to change it all?

The Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the AAP supported student body, is all set to make its debut in the Delhi University elections scheduled to be held on September 11. With AAP and Arvind Kejriwal’s ideas in mind, CYSS is committed to ending money and muscle power in campus elections. CYSS claims a strong level of intra-party coordination and a firm adherence to clean and honest politics. They believe that the crippling problems of the nation like corruption and hunger can be solved if parties stand by clean politics. Focusing on student issues, they want to rid the election scenario of vulgar splashing of money and the intimidating presence of outsiders.

Past activities and stands

CYSS has made three issues the focus of its campaign as seen in their manifesto. Providing WiFi facilities in all public places and high footfall areas of North and South Campus, monthly job fairs in the 11 revenue districts of Delhi and implementing an education loan scheme and providing opportunities to help DU students become job creators and not just job seekers. However, CYSS had recently found itself amidst allegations of publicising ‘fake’ opinion polls and advertising on hundreds of billboards across the city. Their claims of being a ‘clean’ party and standing for honest politics got into more trouble when the party organised a star studded concert at Talkatora Stadium. The Chief Minister also addressed the students of Delhi University, promising them higher education loan schemes, one lakh jobs within a year and free WiFi in colleges, when endorsement of candidates by political parties is not permitted according to university norms. Lyngdoh Committee recommendations speak of a budget of Rs 5000 for campaigning. It would seem the actions of the party have been contradictory to their claims of ‘clean’ politics.

Candidates for 2015

Standing from the CYSS panel are Kuldeep Bidhuri, a second year B.A Programme student from PGDAV (morning) college, for the post of President, Garima Rana, a state-level badminton player from Hindu College, for the post of Vice President, Rahul Raj Aryan, a university gold medalist from Hindu college, for the post of Secretary and Hintanshi Chauhan from Satyawati College for the post of Joint Secretary.

NSUI- A Force to Reckon with?

A proud Centrist party, NSUI came into being on 9 April 1971, and boasts of 4 million members and around 1,30,000 office bearers and units in 14,500 colleges across the country.
Their mission is to “empower the student community, to create responsible citizens and leaders based on the values of democracy, secularism, liberty, quality & equality”.

Past Activities and Stands

In their 20-point manifesto for 2015, NSUI has focused on four main issues- rollback of the CBCS system, demand for atleast two hostels each in the North and South Campuses, proper water facilities in all colleges, and improvement of administrative management across the university for procedures like submission of the examination forms. In addition to these, they have also stressed on the importance of issues like lack of WiFi access in colleges and the tedious schedule of evening colleges.
Their campaign strategy works on ‘conventional is cool’. According to them, the glamorous and star-studded campaigns being run by other parties aren’t good tactics.

Candidates for 2015

For the 2015 DUSU elections, NSUI has fielded Pradeep Vijayran, a final year LLB student from the Faculty of Law, as their Presidential Candidate, Prerna Singh from Ram Lal Anand College as their Vice-Presidential candidate, Amit Sehrawat from the Faculty of Law for the post of the Secretary and Deepak Chaudhary from Hansraj College for the post of the Joint Secretary.

SFI- Aiming to Reform DU

“Curb money and muscle power in the University of Delhi,” said Prashant, a State Committee Member of the Students’ Federation of India. In the 2015 DUSU Elections, SFI is aiming for that and to stop mishaps in the University.

Past Activities and Stands

Unlike many other student political parties, SFI has a different manifesto, which includes removal of the Choice Based Credit System, better accommodation in hostels and rent-control for PGs and Flats, sorting out the matter of the LLB Course of the University not being recognised by the Bar Council and granting of the “MCM Scholarships”, which were started in 2002 by SFI.

SFI has continued to have an alliance with All India Students Organisation- the AIDSO Alliance. This is to stop the fractioning of the left votes in the university and to amalgamate the left force to defeat the predominant right wing of the university.

The Candidates for 2015


The candidates being fielded by SFI are Chand Mahal Ruby, a 3rd year Political Science student from Ramjas College, for the post of the President, Qasim Masumi, pursuing masters from School of Social Work, for the post of the Vice-President, Ashraf Ali standing, a student at Moti Lal Nehru College and the AIDSO Alliance candidate, for the post of the Secretary and Ashish Chauhan, a student at Zakir Hussain Evening College, for the post of the Joint Secretary.

Image Credits- youthkiawaaz.com

Sidhant R. Seth
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Riya Chhibber
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Arindam Goswami
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Sidharth Yadav
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Ishaan Gambhir
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Journalism has been called the “first rough draft of history”. D.U.B may be termed as the first rough draft of DU history. Freedom to Express.

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