ABVP and NSUI have launched rival outreach campaigns ahead of Delhi University Student Union’s September 17 elections, aimed at collecting student suggestions to shape their poll manifestos.
With the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections scheduled for September 17, student organisations have intensified campus outreach, launching manifesto campaigns on Monday, built around student participation.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has rolled out its “My DU, My Manifesto” campaign, inviting students across the University of Delhi to share their concerns, expectations and suggestions, which the organisation said will be incorporated into its manifesto for the polls. Under the initiative, students can share their views through a QR code as well as with ABVP volunteers conducting the campaign across various DU colleges.
ABVP Delhi State Secretary Sarthak Sharma, in conversation with The Hans, said the campaign was aimed at moving beyond closed-door manifesto drafting:
“Our manifesto should not be a document decided by a select few. Through ‘My DU, My Manifesto’, we seek to reach out to every student and understand what they consider to be the most pressing issue at the University of Delhi and what changes they wish to see in their university.”
The organisation said it would study the suggestions received from students and seek to translate them into practical and student-centric policy proposals.
Separately, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) pushed forward its own initiative, “My Campus, My Manifesto,” claiming to have collected close to 6,000 suggestions from students within a week. NSUI said its teams have been visiting colleges across DU, gathering feedback through suggestion boxes and face-to-face interactions, in an effort to ground its manifesto in grassroots concerns rather than a top-down approach.
NSUI media in-charge Ravi Pandey told The New Indian Express that the volume of responses reflected student demand to be heard.
“Nearly 6,000 suggestions in just one week show that students want their voices to be heard,” he said, adding, “We will analyse every suggestion and ensure that the manifesto reflects the real concerns and aspirations of students. The manifesto will not be written for students, but by students.”
The campaign comes ahead of the DUSU elections, which are expected to see participation from various student organisations across the university, with both ABVP and NSUI positioning their manifestos as student-driven exercises ahead of the September 17 polls.
Image Source: DU Beat
Image Caption: Delhi University’s Wall of Democracy
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Sheetal Mishra
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