SFI and AISA announce an alliance for the upcoming DUSU elections, fighting fee hikes, privatisation, and money power in DU politics, with their campaign focusing on affordable education, student welfare, and resisting RSS-ABVP influence on campus.
In a significant development ahead of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Wednesday announced a pre-poll alliance, declaring their intent to counter what they termed the dominance of “money and muscle power” in campus politics.
At a joint press conference held at the Press Club of India, the two Left-affiliated student outfits said they would contest the polls on a common platform, highlighting issues of affordability, quality education, and student welfare. Under the seat-sharing arrangement, AISA will field candidates for the posts of president and joint secretary, while SFI will contest the vice president and secretary positions.
Aishe Ghosh, SFI’s Delhi State Secretary, underlined the alliance’s commitment to challenging the prevailing campus political culture. She further added that,
SFI and AISA have been the frontal forces against the domination of money and muscle in DU politics. Last year, too, our panel polled nearly 9,000 votes, asserting a strong third pole in DUSU. This time as well, fighting for accessible and quality education, the AISA and SFI will contest on a joint platform of student struggles.
Echoing this sentiment, AISA’s Delhi University president Saavy criticised the current education policies, alleging that universities were facing “an all-out attack” under the present dispensation.
The four-year undergraduate programme has diluted the content and quality of education. There are rabid fee hikes across courses and colleges. The recent metro fare hike will hit students the hardest. Both organisations have come together to make this election a struggle for affordability and quality in the university.
The alliance has announced a “DU Mahapanchayat” on September 2 to press for their demands. These include the rollback of fee hikes, concessional metro passes for students, adequate hostel facilities, functional internal complaints committees in every college, and an end to what they described as “bogus SEC and VAC courses” and the current internal assessment scheme.
The leaders of SFI and AISA also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), of using Delhi University as a “laboratory” for the past decade. They pledged to challenge what they termed the “RSS-ABVP nexus of privatisation and saffronisation of education”.
With the alliance positioning itself as a “third pole” in DU politics, the upcoming elections are expected to witness a keen contest, as issues of accessibility, affordability, and academic quality take centre stage.
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Featured Image Source: DU Beat
Richa Choudhary
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