DU profs,ex-student take on Cong MLA in Timarpur

The MLA lays down his plans for the next term. “There are several big projects which have been completed by us. We will set up more homes for senior citizens,improve the sewage system and construct an elevated road around Najafgarh drain,” Pal said.

At 8 am on Sunday,Abbi is on her padyatra in Mukherjee Nagar,going from house to house seeking votes. “This whole constituency faces acute water shortage. The water pipes,which were laid 40 years ago,have not been replaced,” says the DU law professor. While her association with politics goes back to student politics,Abbi entered the state political scene in 2007. She has successfully contested civic polls in 2007 and 2012 from Mukherjee Nagar.

Poor drainage,water shortage and high power tariffs form the crux of the election campaigns of all candidates. Timarpur’s poll issues also comprise the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP),exorbitant rent for the student population and the security of female students.

According to CPI candidate Bajinder Singh,house rent needed government regulation. “A student has to pay Rs 10,000 for one small room and no attempt has been made to bring about rent control measures,” he says.

Asked about FYUP,Abbi says it falls under the purview of the Central government,even as the AAP has promised a rollback of the programme in its manifesto.

A Hindi associate professor from Shyamlal (Evening) College,Harish Khanna,is AAP’s candidate for Timarpur. He has won the Delhi University Teachers’ Association polls a record number of times. “I have never lost any election,” Khanna says.

For Khanna,the rollback of FYUP takes top priority. “We promised that we will roll back the four-year courses in Delhi University. During our road shows,a lot of young students have come to us and given unprecedented support to the party,” he says.