New Delhi: Delhi University students thronged polling booths on Friday to cast their votes for the students union election that is taking place after a gap of three years.
Twenty-four candidates are in the fray for the student body election this time. While students of the day classes can cast their votes until 1 pm, those from the evening classes can cast their votes from 3 pm to 7:30 pm.
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Congress' student wing National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the CPI(M)-backed Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA), affiliated to the CPI-ML (Liberation), have fielded candidates for all four posts.
ABVP candidate for the post of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president Tushar Dedha appealed to the students to exercise their voting rights peacefully.
"Students are coming out in large numbers and casting their votes. We are confident that the majority of votes will go in favour of the ABVP panel. I appeal to all the students of Delhi University to maintain peace in the election process and exercise their voting rights," he said.
Dedha won the election for college cultural coordinator at Satyawati College in 2016. He was also an executive council member at DUSU.
ABVP's vice-presidential candidate Shushant Dhankar said that they "will work for betterment of students fraternity." "Many of them might be voting in DUSU elections for the first time but they have seen the positive and constructive work of ABVP-led DUSU in the last four years. Each vote may change the fate of students' representation in Delhi University. Therefore, they must use this power wisely," Dhankar said.
The counting of votes will be held on Saturday.
The DUSU polls were last held in 2019. The election could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 while possible disruptions to the academic calendar prevented its conduct in 2022.
AISA's presidential nominee Aiyesha Ahmad Khan said that she is hoping students make this election a referendum against the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP).
"Students are bearing the brunt of Skill Enhancement Course (SAC), Value Addition Course (VAC) and Ability Enhancement course (AEC), which are diluting the core courses," Aiyesha, a student of Miranda House College, claimed.
Anushka Chaudhary, contesting for the post of DUSU vice-president as an AISA nominee, said that fee hike, burdening students from lower-middle-class and middle-class families, is an important issue which the organisation will focus on.
"Students must exercise their voting rights to ensure a responsible and accountable DUSU that will ensure a reduction in fees. A large number of students, mostly from the middle class and lower middle class, come to DU for quality education. Fee hike is a major barrier for them," Chaudhary, a student of the Law Faculty at Delhi University, claimed.
Meanwhile, Delhi Congress leader and former NSUI member Ali Mehdi reached Zakir Hussain College and appealed to the students to cast their votes in support of the NSUI candidates.
"I asked students on what basis are they giving the votes, they said they want development. They don't want any kind of hooliganism or violence on the campus. Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra also made a huge impact on the students and I am confident that NSUI will win all four seats," Mehdi said.
The SFI on Friday wrote on 'X', "Happy polling day, DU! Break the habit! REJECT politics of bribes and violence. Vote for Metro Passes, cheaper canteens and hostels! Elect DUSU of the Aam Aadmi. Vote SFI in DUSU."
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