Politics returns to campus: DU students union polls on Sept 22

The elections are for four DUSU office bearers — president, vice-president, secretary, and joint secretary — and members of DU’s central council.

The Delhi University on Thursday announced that its student body elections will be held on September 22. The DU Students’ Union (DUSU) polls are being held after four years due to the Covid-induced lockdown.

Posters and banners by various student outfits have come up across the North Campus. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The elections are for four DUSU office bearers — president, vice-president, secretary, and joint secretary — and members of DU’s central council.

According to the election schedule, issued by DU registrar Vikas Gupta, the last date for the receipt of nomination papers is September 12. This will be followed by scrutiny of the nomination papers, and the publication of the list, which will take place on the same day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is September 13, and the final list of candidates will be published on the same day.

The elections will be held between 8.30 am and 1 pm for the students of the morning batches, and between 3 pm and 7.30 pm for evening college students.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students can contest and vote in these elections. Professor Chandra Shekhar, who is serving as the chief election officer, last week had said, “The elections are generally held within 6-8 weeks of the colleges opening. The entire process takes around 10-12 days and elections will be held via electric voting machines (EVMs).”

In the last DUSU election that were held in 2019, the age bracket for undergraduate student candidates was 17 to 22 years, and the upper-age limit for postgraduate students was 25. However, this year, the university is planning to increase the age limit, which will be announced on Friday, registrar Gupta said.

Current DUSU president Akshit Dahiya, from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), said his party has already started campaigning for the polls. He said, “We are trying to create awareness so that the voter turnout is good. The current batches of students have not contested or voted for student elections before.”

Ashish Lamba, currently the DUSU secretary, who is from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), said his party will launch their manifesto election soon. The current DUSU members are tasked with spreading information and awareness about DUSU elections, he added.

The All India Students Association (AISA) confirmed that they will contest the elections. In a statement, the party said, “When lockdown struck, AISA led the movement against online exams and then for the reopening of the campus. It was AISA’s 56 Day strike that resulted in the reopening of Delhi University in February 2022. Since then, AISA has led the movement against the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme in Delhi University, championing the cause of a quality and accessible education.”

Meanwhile the DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA) elections have been scheduled for September 27. According to the election schedule, the filing of nominations for teachers will take place on September 19 and 20. The final list of candidates will be published on September 21. The elections are set to take place in the Arts Building complex and Satyakam Bhawan in DU’s north campus.

On August 12, various teachers’ groups such as Democratic Teachers’ Front came together to form a Democratic United Teachers’ Alliance. These included Congress’s Indian National Teachers’ Congress, AAP’s Academic for Action and Development Teachers Association, and Democratic Teachers’ Front, among others. They announced that Aditya Narayan Misra will run as a candidate for the post of DUTA president.

AK Bhagi from National Democratic Teachers’ Front is currently serving as the DUTA president.