Uday Bhatnagar | New Delhi9 hours ago
“Convoys of luxury cars arrive amid sloganeering. As soon as the leader steps out, he is showered with garlands. Firecrackers are bursting in the background. Supporters standing on the roofs of the cars are raising slogans. Amid the sound of drums, leaflets and flowers are being tossed into the air. As soon as one candidate leaves, another party’s candidate arrives.”
This scene may sound like it is from an Assembly or Lok Sabha election, but it is actually from the campaign for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.
Voting for the DUSU elections in Delhi University is scheduled for September 18. Campaigning ended at 5 pm on September 16. The results will be announced on September 19.
The DUSU election is significant because it is the first student union election to be held after the major CJP protest at Jantar Mantar.
The candidates claim that the luxury cars belong to their supporters, not to them.
Delhi University has 2 campuses, 91 colleges, but elections held in 52
Delhi University has two campuses, North and South, located around 15 km apart. Together, DU has 91 colleges, but students from all colleges cannot vote in the DUSU elections.
Only 52 colleges and faculties directly participate in DUSU voting. Some major colleges, including St Stephen’s, Lady Shri Ram and Jesus and Mary, are also not part of DUSU.
Issues being discussed among students
Most of those seen at the CJP protest were from Gen Z, including many DU students.
On September 6, 12 people, including five DU students, died in the Satya Niketan PG accident.
What are the issues for Gen Z voters in these student union elections being held after the CJP protest? What impact has the Satya Niketan PG tragedy had on the elections? How are this year’s DUSU elections different from previous ones? To find out, Dainik Bhaskar spoke to students and candidates at different DU colleges.
South Campus: Safety is the biggest issue; students want outsiders stopped
We first reached South Campus to understand students’ concerns. Amid the noise and bustle of campaigning, ordinary students appeared visibly uncomfortable. Female students, in particular, seemed unhappy with people coming in from outside.
Ananya, a third-year BA English Honours student at PGDAV College, believes women’s safety is a major issue. Her classmate Harshita Chaudhary considers cleanliness on campus a major concern.
She says that no work is done after student unions win elections and that the way campaigns are conducted has not changed in years. Large vehicles and crowds cause problems, while issues caused by outsiders during elections are also ignored. Harshita believes the campaigning process needs to change.
South Campus PGDAV College’s BA Programme second-year student Himanshi also raised the issue of studies being disrupted by election campaigning. She also said students should come together on issues such as the collapse of the PG building in Satya Niketan.
Chinmay Singh, a BCom Honours student at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, also does not consider the campaigning methods appropriate. He says excessive pollution and noise make it difficult to attend classes. He is also troubled by the canteen and the long gaps between two classes. Like Chinmay, Alok, a first-year BSc Computer Science student at PGDAV College, is also facing the problem of classes being cancelled suddenly.
Both Chinmay and Alok stressed that the lack of hostels at DU forces students to pay ₹12,000–14,000 every month for PG accommodation and brokers. Alok says that after seeing incidents involving PGs, the university should either provide compensation or build its own recognised hostels.
Sanjay, another BCom Honours student living in South Campus, feels that everything at the college is average. He wants further improvements in faculty and infrastructure. Regarding the elections, he believes students’ issues are raised, but no work is done on them.
North Campus: Expensive PGs, electricity bills and a severe shortage of hostels
Most of DU’s well-known colleges are located in North Campus, including Miranda, St Stephen’s and Hansraj. Like South Campus, the demand for hostels is the biggest issue among students in North Campus this time.
Vaishnav Seth, a first-year BA Economics Honours student at Shri Ram College of Commerce, lives in a PG because he did not get a hostel. He says a double-sharing room in areas such as Vijay Nagar costs ₹30,000, meaning a monthly burden of ₹15,000 per student. He adds, “On top of the rent, we have to pay ₹15 per unit for electricity. The college’s annual fee is ₹30,000–40,000, but PG expenses are making education very expensive. The erratic class timings, with classes directly from 8 am to 2 pm, waste students’ entire day.”
Chandan Kumar, a final-year MA Political Science student at Ramjas College, shares the same concern. He says that for the last 20–25 years, the administration and student unions have only made promises in the name of hostels.
Shalini, from the Philosophy Department of the Faculty of Arts, considers women’s safety the biggest issue in North Campus. She says anyone can enter such a large campus without any checking. During elections, influencers and outsiders freely enter the campus, making female students feel unsafe.
The process for the DU Students’ Union election lasted 10 days. During this period, local newspapers were also printed at DU. They were used for campaigning as well.
Now, a look at the candidates
ABVP candidate says hostel is their biggest issue
The BJP’s student wing ABVP has fielded Yash Dabas for the president’s post this time. Before entering student politics, he was an international-level tennis player. Yash graduated from DU’s Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College.
He is currently pursuing an MA in Buddhist Studies at DU. Yash also agrees that hostels are a major issue this time. He says his focus is ensuring that every student gets a hostel and that every college has a separate hostel for female students.
Referring to the Satya Niketan incident as a result of administrative negligence, Yash says, “Students lost their lives because of the administration’s negligence. I had already raised concerns about such buildings collapsing on my podcast a year ago. We assure students that as soon as we come to power, we will first conduct a ‘safety audit’ of every PG and hostel and make the report public.”
NSUI campaign focuses on hostels, rent and women’s safety
The Congress’ student wing NSUI has fielded Vijay Shankar Meena for the president’s post this time. He is pursuing an MA in Buddhist Studies at DU. He says his campaign is focused on hostels, rent and women’s safety. He alleges that ABVP has betrayed students. He says,
“Our three biggest issues are the shortage of hostels, implementing the Rent Control Act to stop arbitrary rents charged by private PGs, and introducing menstrual leave for female students. Most importantly, there should be a ‘Metro Concession Pass’. ABVP has been promising this for the past 15 years, but this time they have removed it from their manifesto altogether.”
Vijay also refers to the protest held at Jantar Mantar. He says its impact can be seen in these elections. NSUI students who were lathi-charged and faced pellet guns were also part of the protest. He says, “I was personally lathi-charged, which is why the enthusiasm among young people this time will be visible in the results on September 19.”
Left (AISA-SFI) candidate unhappy with election campaigning methods
In this year’s DUSU elections, Left student organisations AISA and SFI have fielded Ananya as their joint candidate for president. Ananya is the only female candidate contesting for the president’s post this time. Originally from Uttarakhand, she is a student at DU’s PGDAV College. Ananya considers money power, muscle power and women’s safety major election issues.
Ananya claims that her campaign is completely different from the “goon politics” of other parties. She says, “Their Thars and Defenders do ‘bhaiya-bhaiya’ politics in the morning and catcall and harass girls in the evening. They freely break through the gates of women’s colleges and enter, while we ask teachers for permission before entering classrooms.”
She alleges that politics in DU is driven only by money, power and factionalism. Ananya says ABVP and NSUI have forgotten students’ real issues. She claims that 97% of students have not received hostel accommodation to date. On her election promises, she says, “All women’s colleges should be made part of DUSU, and every college should have a ‘functional ICC’ (Internal Complaints Committee), so that girls know whom to approach if they face any kind of problem or harassment.”
