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DUSU Elections 2018

Rise of the Vice

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ABVP bigshot Shakti Singh who served as the Vice President of DUSU assumed the powers of the Presidential office now. Here’s a look at whether this decision is just or unfair.

A fake degree row involving ex-Delhi University Students Union President and Akhil Bhartiya Vidhya Parishad (ABVP) titan, Ankiv Basoiya had showed the first signs of drama after the results of this year’s DUSU elections; a matter that DU Beat covered extensively for the past few months. After Basoiya was removed from the organisation, the top seat of the Union was left empty. To this, representatives of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) had expressed their displeasure on Ankiv Basoiya’s ascendancy to power by crafting a fake degree to get admission in the University of Delhi. The matter was dragged to the High Court which took some time to investigate but eventually dismissed NSUI’s petition. This was followed by the incident in focus which happened day before yesterday. Shakti Singh, the DUSU Vice President from ABVP, took over the President’s office and assumed his powers. However just like every student’s politics issue, this has two narratives.
The Lyndoh Committee and Delhi University Constitution both state in clear terms that re-elections are to be conducted if any such seat of power is left vacant. However, they also state that of re-elections don’t take place, then automatically the Vice President gets the green light to rise in power. Stating this as their justification, Shakti Singh entered the President’s office. Saimon Farooqi, National Secretary of NSUI alleged Shakti and his comrades to have used force to break in and exercise their dominance, without any proper court order. He admits that even after the HC rejected their plea, they accepted the decision and waited for re-elections or appointment of a new candidate.
ABVP however claims that it has not violated any rule and not involved in contempt of court. The High Court order and the Lyngdoh Committee seems to be in favour of their argument. ‘No re-elections had taken place in the last two months. One whole semester had ended and the students of University still had no President. Someone had to come to power and we have done this through democratic means. Now after the present incident, we are waiting for a notice showing the approval from the University administration. The administration has anyway been really lazy in such matters be it with Ankiv or Shakti.’ Monika Chaudhary, the National Media in-charge of the ABVP commented on the statements of NSUI which called Shakti Singh’s methods ‘undemocratic’. She added that it was a planned coming to power and no violence and unfair means were used. ‘If day before yesterday would have been violent, the ABVP itself would have condemned Shakti Singh.’, she said.
So as of now, Shakti Singh still sits in power as President. The administration’s response is yet to be seen. NSUI and their presidential candidate Sunny Chillar are still fuming but it needs to be seen whether the odds will be in their favour or ABVP will exercise its full control over the Union without any obstacles.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Asian Age

Shaurya Singh Thapa 

[email protected]

 

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DUSU Elections 2018

Interview with Aakash Choudhary, Secretary of Delhi University Students’ Union

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On Sunday, 23rd September 2018, DU Beat conducted an interview with Aakash Choudhary, the newly elected Secretary of Delhi University Students Union from National Students’ Union of India.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Question: Tell us about your journey from being a student in Sri Aurobindo College to DUSU Secretary.
Aakash: I took admission in Sri Aurobindo College (SAC) in 2014 and later contested the election in college for the post of President in 2015. That was the biggest election in terms of margin of votes where I won by 450 votes. I also
stood in the state NSUI elections and continued my studies simultaneously. In 2017, I graduated from SAC and
took admission in Campus Law Centre. I cleared my first and second semester exams with an aggregate of 58 percent, with 75 percent attendance. Then, I contested for DUSU elections. The party also considered me since I
had a good academics and attendance record. I had also been very active in the student politics. I had planned all
this in 2012 itself.

Question: Now that you are the DUSU Secretary, which are the areas you would like to focus on?
Aakash: The off-campus colleges like Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College are very far and it takes almost
two hours to reach there. When I visited these colleges, I noticed there were no proper playgrounds and sports facilities for students. In fact, many off-campus colleges do not have a proper functional library, medical
room or even a water cooler. So, firstly, I would like to focus on these colleges and provide them with the facilities
available to the other colleges.

Question: How do you plan to ensure a violence-free campus where our academics remain free from political
interference?
Aakash: NSUI campaigned last year with the motto of ensuring a violence-free campus, free from money, and
muscle power. The campus was peaceful last year, with no violence and insolence. This year we repeated the points of violence free campus in our manifesto. However, due to some reasons we only won one seat in the elections. At present, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is in power with 3 seats. As you have seen the violence created by Shakti Singh and his supporters in Zakir Husain Delhi College and violence on Kawalpreet Kaur in Kirori Mal College was caused by ABVP. So, I feel that ABVP indulges in violence on campus.

Question: What was the moment that you recall as being particularly unique in course of your entire campaign?
Aakash: I went to campaign in 52 colleges of DU and felt so blessed that everyone gave me such a warm welcome. This is because of 4 years of hard work which I have done. I went to SAC 5 days before I got my election ticket. That moment was very overwhelming, all the students came out from their classes and cheered for me. In fact the day I got my ticket, I once again visited SAC, however I reached a little late. Most of the students had left, but still the
others gave me a very warm welcome. It’s said that the colleges in Kalkaji campus are dominated by ABVP, but
since I have studied from that campus, I proved it wrong which was evident in the election results where I won by a margin of 6700 votes.
Question: In DUSU, there is a famous saying, ‘Kabhi jaat, kabhi gujjar’. Why have DUSU elections become so caste
dominant?
Aakash: This is primarily because maximum votes in DU are from both these communities. If you look at South Campus, maximum votes are from the jaat community whereas in Kalkaji Campus, gujjars dominate the voting scenario. Family support is another factor in politics which leads to the dominance of both these communities.
Question: Since you are from NSUI, student wing of Congress and Lok Sabha elections are going to be held next year. So do you think there will be a desire for Congress to return?
Aakash: I firmly believe that Congress is going to return in the next elections even if it’s in coalition with some
other parties. If you check the election results of Jaipur National University and many other universities, NSUI has
won with flying colours. Some people may feel that ABVP has bagged three out of four seats in DU and NSUI has fallen weak. But everyone knows the case of EVM tampering that took place on the result day. Along with this,
ABVP DUSU President Ankiv Baisoya is also under the scanner due to his fake degree.
Question: DUSU has always been a stepping stone for making entry into Indian politics. Arun Jaitley and Ajay
Maken are well known examples, so are your future plans also in line with this?
Aakash: Yes, I am currently pursuing law and will practice it for some time. My main focus will be in politics only. I
belong to Rajasthan and the area is still not developed. The mentality of many people in Rajasthan is still limited to sip a cup of tea and read the newspaper in the morning. I would like to work for my native place and develop the area.

Question: As the DUSU Secretary, what role do you think the Union plays and what stand should the Union take
on national issues?
Aakash: I think the reserved category students in DU don’t get equal opportunity. They need help financially. The funds of the reserved category students have been reduced to INR 1800 crores by the University which are still on hold. The central government is trying to bring autonomy and privatise education. The main job of the Union at present should be passing of funds for the students. Placements of the students should also be taken care of.
Question: You have been the President of the Students Union in your college. How has that helped you emerge as a
student leader?
Aakash: After becoming the President of SAC, I understood what I wanted to do. SAC has always been famous for
hooliganism and entry of outsiders. I remember an incident where J-star came to our college fest, someone slapped him, and apart from him 100 people were on stage creating ruckus. I didn’t like this at all. So when I became the President, the first and foremost thing I did was meeting and submitting an application to the SHO and DCP of Malviya Nagar. I told them that students in the fresher’s party should only be allowed with proper ID-Cards. I created a bit of pressure on them because of earlier instances that took place in the college. Also, during my tenure, I introduced two societies-Debating Society, and Arts and Crafts Society. I set a trend of a combined farewell of all the departments in the college like it takes place in North Campus. Now the canteen of SAC also has 5 functioning ACs. In short, the college has seen a transformation.

Question: We all are well-aware of the case of EVM tampering during the election results. What is the latest update on the same?

Aakash: The High Court has asked the University to secure the EVMs till 29th October 2018. I am hoping that the hearing reveals the true verdict. Aakash concluded the interview with a smile and said, “Baaki dekhenge aage!” (“Let’s see what happens next!”) The NSUI has also alleged that the DUSU elections 2018 were not
conducted in a free and fair manner. Many national political leaders like Ajay Maken have also spoken against
this issue, and pointed out that the University of Delhi should release some sort of clarification on the
problems of vote counting.

 

Feature Image Credits: Mahi Sanjay Panchal for DU Beat

Anoushka Sharma
[email protected]

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The Democracy is Broken: Scenes from the Vote Counting Center

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The din of electoral sloganeering has been replaced with the protests about EVM tampering. We shouldn’t worry about the noise though, it will die soon. We should be bothered about how the controversies around elections have been normalised. 

On the 13th of September 2018, results of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections were to be declared. It was a big day not just for the candidates or for those who cover student politics, but also for big media houses. It was one of those occasions when the University of Delhi (DU) becomes important. The polls more or less reflect the mood of national politics, and it’s believed that those who rule DUSU will end up ruling the Parliament. A huge crowd of media vans, supporters, and police were deployed at the Community Center, GTB Nagar. The crowd, comprising overwhelmingly of men, competed with roaring slogans as a show of strength. They changed the names of their male leaders, but not one slogan was raised for the female candidates. You can’t help but notice the glaring absence of women in these types of public spaces.

A few days before the elections, Professor V.K. Kaul, Chief Election Officer, DU, published an appeal to the students of DU. Those, like us, who did read it realised that it was a copy of the last year’s appeal. The letter said 2017 in the body of its content. “Your decision to support only those candidates who respect the rules governing elections will go a long way in helping the University conduct the elections as per the law,” said the appeal. In its stoic language the appeal makes a great point, but let’s not forget where it is coming from. The DU administration constantly fails to conduct peaceful polls. During the course of voting, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), whose own genesis is debatable, fails, the code of conduct is violated, and the candidates are never held accountable for their deeds.

The DU Election Commission doesn’t care, its appeal is a farce. After the initial hiccup, where one EVM was seen as faulty, the counting began again. A sole media person, closely followed by the representatives of political parties, would come out and give the latest update about the current vote count. The fact that these updates were greedily given and consumed after every 15 minutes shows how media considers trivial information important. By egging on the anticipation of results, it fails to focus on questions like, “Why are the representatives coming out and declaring the latest count to their waiting supporters when it’s against the code of conduct?” The fueling of passions can any second lead to a violent confrontation, then why is this prompting being allowed? We spotted a SFI candidate trying to get signals in spite of the jammers. I asked her, “Has your vote share increased?” She pointedly declined to comment and said they can’t discuss anything about it while counting is going on. I admire her faith in the rule of law.

The policemen stand lazily and gossip. You will notice those who come from the North-East huddled together, the female officers talking in a close group, their demarcation being obvious. “Will they protect us if the barricades break?” we wondered. At one point we discussed the exit strategy in case they broke loose. Detailed scanning of the location was quickly followed by a decision to meet at a designated point in case we get separated. Live coverage had become an occupational hazard. This is what the counting of mere 44% of voter turnout takes.

Soon enough, the results were declared. A loud public celebration broke; we scooted after clicking the generic pictures before things got messy. While dogging the rowdy celebrations, I recalled what our Editor, Kinjal Pandey, wrote in the last editorial, “DUSU politics was never too ugly, we just neglected what was ours for too long.” We deserved this, congratulations.

Feature Image Credits: The Hindustan Times

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

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DUSU’18 EVMs: Rigged or Ripped-off?

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The Electronic Voting Machines used during DUSU2018 elections were not issued by the Election Commission of India, and this revelation casts a shadow on the credibility and fairness of the election and its outcome.

The Vote Counting for the Delhi University Students’ Union Elections 2018 was held on Wednesday, 13 September, and true to its legacy was riddled with controversy and skepticism owing to claims alleging that the elections were rigged after the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) stopped due to technical glitches. This was catalyzed by reports that the EVMs in question weren’t ECI-EVMS (Election Commission of India EVMs).

Amid rising confusion and mistrust, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi issued a press release on Thursday, 14 September 2018, the contents of which clarified that the EVMs used in Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election have not been issued by the Election Commission and seem to have been procured privately. This sparked debate among students and authorities regarding the credibility of EVMs and DUSU results.

Meanwhile, sources from theUniversity of Delhi said that the EVMs used during the student union polls were procured from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and were of a different module than those available with the Election Commission.

In a series of insinuating tweets by Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi claims that it’s impossible to manufacture or procure EVMs privately in India, and ownership of the same is a criminal offence. These claims remain unacknowledged by the office of the Electoral Commission of India.

The usage of EVMs in India has been challenged time and again with respect to credibility, reliability, and robustness. Since 2001, the issue of possible tampering of EVMs has been raised before various High Courts. ECI-EVMs are currently manufactured by only two Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in India — Electronics Corp of India Ltd (ECIL), Hyderabad, and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru. Private sale and manufacture of only ECI-EVMs are prohibited, while the law remains ambiguous about private sale, manufacture and ownership of all (those excluding ECI-EVMs) EVMs.

Sunny Chhillar, the former Presidential candidate from National Students’ Union of India added to the discourse by questioning the authenticity and source of the EVMs used, “Humein Jawab Chahiye ki Election Commission ke paas khud ki machines nahi thi kya? Humei ye bhi nahi batare ki EVMs kis firm ya organisation se li gyi. (We want to know, did the Election Commission not have their own EVMs? They won’t even inform us of the source of these privately acquired EVMs)”

Feature Image Credits: Office of Chief Electoral  Officer, Delhi

Nikita Bhatia
[email protected]

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DUSU Elections 2018 – ABVP Bags 3 out of 4 positions

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After a tumultuous day of tensions and a very close call for the post of President, the DUSU election results were announced, with ABVP’s Ankiv Baisoya elected as the DUSU President and ABVP’s Shakti Singh winning the post of Vice President, NSUI’s Akash securing the post of Secretary, and ABVP’s Jyoti Choudhary winning the post of Joint Secretary.

Image Source: ABVP
Image Source: ABVP

The counting took place in Community Centre, Kingsway Camp. Until 12:30 p.m., NSUI’s Sunny Chillar was leading in the post of President, while ABVP was leading in the other three posts.

Due to discrepancies observed in the EVM machines, counting came to multiple halts throughout the day, and was even suspended for the day around 3 p.m. NSUI alleged ABVP of tampering with the Electronic Voter Machines (EVMs) and have reportedly stated that the machines display votes for Ballot No. 10 for counting of the Secretary post, which is apparently for a non-existent candidate, as the last Ballot no. was 9 for NOTA. In total, 6 EVM machines were found faulty and the protests broke out in the venue with chanting of slogans against the DU administration and the VC.

Rocky Tuseed, the current office bearer for President, was not allowed to exit the counting area, and was asked to sign a document stating for re-counting to take place tomorrow, which he categorically refused from doing.

Reportedly, a fight broke out between ABVP’s Sunny Tanwar and NSUI’s Saurabh Yadav, and the police was on the verge of resorting to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

Ruchi Gupta, the Media in-charge of NSUI took to Twitter to express her dismay in the counting process, with repeated EVM glitches and halting of counting.

 

The counting of votes resumed from 5:50 p.m. and security measures were beefed up. Meanwhile, ABVP had asked NSUI and CYSS to accept results, and not indulge in “tactics” of claiming the EVMs to be faulty.

Once voting resumed, around 7:30 p.m., Sunny Chillar, the Presidential candidate from NSUI was leading, and by 8:50, he was leading by a close margin of 50 votes. The rounds which were subsequent to resuming counting witnessed a close call in the post of the President’s position. Eventually, ABVP’s Ankiv Baisoya won by around 2000 votes.

This year of DUSU Elections registered a record-high voter turnout with 44.46% till 7:30 p.m. yesterday, in comparison to 43% in the previous year, and a dismal 34.3% in 2016.

Anoushka Sharma

Niharika Dabral

 

Feature Image Credits: Saubghagya Saxena for DU Beat

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We Made DUSU Politics Dirty

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As EVM machine buttons in colleges are deciding the fate of the politics of our varsity, it is time to wonder why for a Varsity as politically aware as ours, we choose to stay aloof from our own elections.

The University of Delhi (DU) and the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections are the epitome of what student politics in our country looks like. DUSU politics is an extension of national politics. Money and muscle power sway results, caste matters much more than we would like to believe, women are horribly underrepresented, freebies are secretly welcome, and just like national politics, the privileged do not bother turning up to vote. Like a 70s Bollywood film, DUSU politics has it all
– money, muscle power, a protagonist, and an army of self-righteous men, supporting their leader as if their life depends on it.

Elections in DU are a stepping stone to national politics. Becoming a DUSU office-bearer is the equivalent of winning a wild-card entry into the more significant horizon of state or national level politics. There is analogy, used in the varsity on and off, that there are 70 MLAs and 7 MPs in Delhi, but only one Delhi University Students’ Union President. The result of these elections result in a victory march of sorts, surrounded by supporters and the kind of mad frenzy that revolves in the air, highlights exactly how powerful this position is. As the winners climb on the Vivekananda statue in the Faculty of Arts, that moment signifies lakhs of rupees worth of campaigning, thousands of supporters, hundreds of cars that blocked the campus roads, and almost one year of unofficial lobbying.

When we try to understand why we don’t vote in DUSU elections, we need to understand why we don’t need to vote, in the first place. We don’t feel the need to stand in a two-hour long queue to press a button or understand which political party is offering subsidised canteen food v/s which is offering hostel facilities because we simply do not care and our day-to-day functioning is not affected by it. By virtue of how Delhi University functions-on the basis of high cut-offs- a fair share of its student body, especially in top ranking colleges hails from your stereotypical, private, CBSE/ISC school background where they had the luxury, guidance, and resources to chase a number as unrealistic as 98%. These students, who hail from privileged, upper-middle class families, need not bother about politics, just the way privileged individuals almost always do not care about politics because they’re above it, at least in principle. Schemes brought out for the majority aren’t applicable to them.

The power of one vote is cliché, to the point that the concept has stopped moving us. I will not urge you to exercise your democratic right by turning up to vote because every vote counts. I am sure you have heard that line before. But if you are one of the people who know by virtue of their birth, have their luxury to dissociate from politics, who are not plagued by the fear that the wrongly elected representatives could negatively impact your lives. If you are confident that with time, your life will continue as is, irrespective of how the results are, then I would tell you that you are extremely privileged.To have the luxury of not worrying about who would win, because you know you would be alright, is the primary symptom of being privileged.

The general student body of DU is woke. Students here volunteer,protest, resist, and take pride in fighting their battles. Therefore, the kind of hypocritical elitism they show towards DUSU politics is appalling. As we snub and stay complacent towards DU politics, another election season with its blatant caste-ism, sexism, and “might is right” attitude comes to a close. DUSU politics isn’t ugly because it has inherently been so, it is ugly because we refuse to engage in it. We have given bigger players in national politics the free reign to turn DUSU into their own little game of tennis, with the ball being in either sides of the court at all times. By refusing to engage with it, we have lost the right to claim to be above it. As you sit today, probably in a classroom or cafeteria of your college where you pursue a subsidised education, I would urge you to go ahead and vote. DUSU politics was never too ugly, we just neglected what was ours for too long.

Kinjal Pandey
[email protected]

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Tete-a-tete with Neelanjita Biswas, SFI’s Vice Presidential Candidate

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On Tuesday, 11th September 2018, DU Beat conducted an interview with Neelanjita Bishwas, the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) in context to the Delhi University Student Union Elections to be held on the 12th of September 2018.

Neelanjita is pursuing Political Science Honours from Hindu College. She is from West Bengal and has been working with SFI since class 12th.  
Here are some excerpts from the interview.

A majority of students feel detached from DUSU (Delhi University Student Union). In such a scenario, what is your model of establishing accountability?
We certainly consider this a major issue. As made clear in our agenda, we plan on holding regular union GBM (General Body Meetings) with students. Yesterday, we held a program called “Ask Your Candidate” and answers pointed questions about our manifesto and policies. We are ready for all sorts of criticism and questions.

What are your party’s opinions regarding the autonomy drive of the colleges?
Our party clearly opposes any such autonomy of colleges. We understand that autonomy entails economic privatisation which will lead to fee hike and compromise the diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity of university spaces. SFI has struggled against autonomy in the past and would continue doing so.

How inclusive do you think SFI in terms of minority representation?
At SFI we believe in equality. In fact, only after the recent NSUI allegations of casteism, we looked into the issue of minority representation and found that we have people coming from all socio-economic backgrounds in our party.

Lyngdoh Committee lays down five thousand rupees as the maximum expenditure amount. How does your party maintain it?
To make things clear at the very beginning, we are against the Lyngdoh Committee for its restrictive nature. Having said that, we are the only party that follows the expenditure and paperless election regulations, when everyone else is abusing it indiscriminately. The administration should take stringent actions against the same. At the same time, seeing other leftist parties engage in the same is extremely disappointing.

This election year, AISA has been accused of aligning with CYSS for monetary gains. How do you see these allegations?
First of all, it was disappointing to see AISA not aligning with us, in spite of our ideological similarities and the many wars we have fought together. As far as your question is concerned, I believe it would be more proper to pose this question to AISA leadership.

In an environment where clean and honest politics has a history of not bearing fruits, what motivates your party to keep on fighting?
A drive to weed out the corruption and mismanagement of resources, I would say. There is an inner drive which propels one to keep on working against all odds. 

SFI-AISF Panel 
1.  President (SFI)
Akashdeep Tripathi- Ballot no. 2
2. Vice President (SFI)
Nilanjita Bishwas- Ballot no. 4
3.  Secretary (AISF)
Subhash Bhat- Ballot no. 6
4.  Joint Secretary
Srejeet K.- Ballot no. 4

Feature Image Credits: SFI-AISF

Interview taken by Niharika Dabral ([email protected])

Interview transcribed by Nikhil Kumar ([email protected])

 

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Know Your Candidate: ABVP Edition

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With DUSU Elections coming to a close soon, it becomes imperative for voters to realise the importance their vote holds. Read on the maniefestos of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates from ABVP to know more about the contenders!

Candidate for the post of President-

Ankiv Baisoya
The Presidential candidate of the ABVP,
Mr. Ankiv Baisoya, had done his graduation in B.A. (Hons.) Economics from the College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi (DU). Currently pursuing his Masters degree in Buddhist studies from the Department of Buddhist Studies (DU), Baisoya has been a diligent member of the ABVP for the last five years. When asked about his agenda for this year’s Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), he told DU Beat, “If I am elected as the President, I will make sure over fifty percent of the DUSU budget is allocated towards women empowerment, holistic development of students belonging to the SC and ST communities, and towards an extensive focus on sports in the varsity.”
The establishment of a Research Students’ Grievance Cell and ensuring the conduct of fair and regular elections to the Internal Complaints’ Committee in all colleges are amongst the developments that he wants to bring about in the varsity. Further, he envisages the provision of a police booth
near every hostel and college, and pledges to equip those booths with female police
staff.

When the DU Beat correspondent
asked Baisoya why he thinks he is worthy of the post of President, he stated,
“Besides working for the students at the
grassroot level in the last five years, I
have taken up their issues of grievance
and worked to mitigate the same. I have
actively contributed to the protests
demanding 24*7 access to the library
facility for students of DU’s North Campus, as a result of which the access to the library was extended by three hours. Moreover, I have tirelessly worked in the ABVP’s efforts to campaign against the imposition of massive taxes on sanitary napkins. The government’s cut on the taxes on sanitary napkins has been largely considered a resulting factor of our collective effort. I espouse a university which will treat all students equally regardless of the area or community they come from. I espouse a
university which will embrace the girl child and provide a safe learning environment for her. I espouse a university where students will be able to venture into the worlds of knowledge, unhindered.”

Candidate for the Post of Vice-
President: Shakti Singh
The Vice Presidential candidate fielded
by the ABVP, Shakti Singh, belongs to
Baniyan of Uttar Pradesh but has done his schooling from Nainital. Having completed his graduation from MIT Pune in the year 2016, he is currently is a second-year law student at the Faculty of Law, DU. Shakti, who is a national-level boxer and a silver medalist at the state-level, said, “As a sportsperson, I will try my best to create a better atmosphere to simultaneously encourage sports with academics so that we can establish a healthy society and set the grounds for a better sports culture in Delhi University. Moreover, I will make sure that sports funds are allocated accurately.”
Having worked for the non-governmental organisation, ‘Association for Awareness,’ Singh is an active proponent of women’s safety and security and a large aspect of his agenda is focussed on gender sensitisation.

Mr. Singh has propounded that self-defence training camps should be held in various colleges for the girl students. Another area that Singh wants to work upon is the control over the rent for rooms in the North and South campuses of DU. He told DU Beat, “It is unfortunate that students who come from different regions of the country to study in India’s premier university are compelled to pay huge sums of money just for their accommodation.

If I am elected as the Vice President, I will work for the drafting and implementation of a ‘Room Rent Control’ Bill. I will ensure that outstation students are not forced to pay a very high rent, and that there is a ceiling on the maximum amount that can be charged from students.” Stressing on the importance of every student’s vote, Singh’s message to the student community of DU is, “None of the Above (NOTA) is not an option.

NOTA would not resolve the problems of
high varsity fees or inadequate facilities
on campus. We must have a direction in
life in order to comprehensively fulfill the purpose of our existence. Similarly, if I am elected, I will try my level best to carve out a sense of direction for the varsity such that the student community can study and pursue their aspirations in a conducive environment.

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NSUI Members Allege ABVP for Violence in Campus at Lakshmibai College

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The DUSU elections are underway. The influence of student parties is not only a matter of contention at the university level, but at the college level as well.

During the elections in Lakshmibai College for Women, the student wing of the college affiliated to the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) alleged the involvement of members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in violence that erupted in the college post the declaration of the election results.

“NSUI won unopposed on the post of President, Vice President, and Secretary.” said Sarah Iqbal, National Media Coordinator of NSUI and final year student of Lakshmibai College.

According to sources, the opposition student parties like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Chatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) etc, at Lakshmibai College could not file their nominations to content in the internal students’ union elections due to discrepancies in their nomination form, or being late in the filing of the nomination.

Members of CYSS claimed that this was their first time contesting in the internal college elections, which resulted in a misunderstanding of the deadline to file the nomination forms. While students belonging to the ABVP had issues with the specifications in theirs. Hence, the posts of President, Vice President, and Secretary were declared as unopposed winners, crediting their political affiliation to NSUI.

The other posts, namely, Cultural Secretary, and Central Counselor (CC) had multiple candidates in contestation from the ABVP and NSUI.

After the declaration of the final list of candidates for the Lakshmibai College Students’ Union elections, violence erupted in the campus. Onlookers claimed men allegedly claiming to be ABVP supporters tried to enter the college forcefully and misbehaved with the lady constables deployed at the college gates.

Karishma Thakur, an alumna of Lakshmibai College and National General Secretary of NSUI claims to have gotten injured in the violence allegedly instigated by ABVP outside the college campus. Himani Tokas, who emerged as the uncontested President of the Lakshmibai College students’ union also claimed to have been verbally abused outside the administrative offices block of the college by the opposition party members. NSUI members have filed an FIR against all those involved in violence, and have requested the Delhi Police for extra security outside the college, sighting the violence committed against innocent guards and constables posted outside the college.

DU Beat tried to contact officials from ABVP; however, they were not available for comment.

Bhavya Banerjee

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Campus Central

 AISA-CYSS and NSUI Present Their Election Manifesto in Miranda House

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In a session today, AISA-CYSS and NSUI presented their election manifestoes in Miranda House. The Miranda House Student’s Union elections were also held.

Half an hour after noon today, the Miranda House auditorium was abuzz with students who had come to hear the candidates for various student’s unions making their election speeches. After the Miranda House Student’s Union elections (MHSU) candidates made their election speeches, representatives from AISA-CYSS and NSUI came forward for their campaigns.

Abhigyan, the AISA-CYSS Presidential candidate said in his campaign speech, “There is a narrative which has happened that university-level politics is very self-centred and is used as a stepping stone for advancing a person’s career, we are trying to change this narrative. Why shouldn’t there be a narrative where we can talk about politics? We are trying to build a Union which is not going to dictate the students.” Abhigyan raised several issues like financial autonomy, the use of muscle power and the masculinity that has crept up in politics. He also talked about how AISA had helped in building a girls’ hostel in Hindu College, fought for metro bus passes as well as campaigned against financial autonomy.

Abhigyan was then questioned extensively by the students who asked him on AISA’s stand on gender discrimination committees, why AISA was fielding a male Presidential candidate and so on.

After that, NSUI’s student candidate for the Vice-Presidential post, Leena tried to present her manifesto. However, some of the students of Miranda House opposed her before she could say anything, demanding that she leave the podium and that she was not “fit to be contesting elections.” Amid massive booing, Leena talked about the NSUI’s stance for women empowerment, to make University of Delhi (DU) an Institute of Eminence which would bring in public funds, to launch a thali for students worth 10 rupees, etc. Leena, who is a graduate of Miranda House, claimed that she used to “stand outside the gate of Miranda House regularly and campaign.” However, many students shouted that they hadn’t seen her outside the gate. She was also called out on her claim of not distributing any pamphlets in her name, what she would do on her part to change the politics of the University, and the fact that her name was changed from Leena to “A.A. Leena” in an alleged claim for getting the first ballot. Although Ms Leena tried to defend her position and that of her student union, the students booed her off the stage.

Ambica, a Miranda House student said, “The girl from NSUI didn’t have answers for anything. She just repeated a few things that she had been told to say. But it wasn’t surprising because once your party member has been accused of molestation and rape, there isn’t much that you could say.”

Muskan Dhar, the Vice-president of Women’s Development Cell of Miranda House, when asked if the booing was fair, said, “We heard Abhigyan and he was pretty correct in saying that the ICCs are not functional. As an ICC candidate, I know the kind of resistance we face in having meetings. The candidate from NSUI, however, did not have any proper manifesto. How Miranda reacted to it was two-fold. Some of it was justified since we know of the increasing violence around the campus, but I think we could have channelised our concerns in a better way.”

No official candidate of ABVP showed up and no official reasons were submitted for. Later in a notice released by the Staff Advisors of Miranda House, it was informed that the ABVP candidates would address the students of Miranda House tomorrow at from 12:45 to 1 p.m.

Feature Image Credits: Mahi for DU Beat

Sara Sohail

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