DU students’ union polls: Housing, fees, period leave take center stage ahead of September contest

The Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), which broke a seven-year drought last year by winning the president and joint secretary posts, is foregrounding both campus welfare and gender equity.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ravi Pandey, National Chairman of NSUI’s media department, said, “Our teams are actively engaging with students across North Campus and various colleges, sharing diaries that highlight our agenda on accommodation and housing, campus infrastructure, transportation, social justice, and other key student issues. With female students, we are prioritising crucial demands like 12 days of menstrual leave per semester. NSUI will also organise interactive programmes in colleges to directly listen to students, understand their concerns, and prepare a concrete roadmap for solutions.”

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is preparing to release its manifesto after consultations with students.

State secretary Saarthak Sharma said, “Basic issues that arise in campuses are hygiene in colleges. ABVP promised the U-Special (bus) and the fight to regulate the exorbitant fee hike, towards which we have worked in the past year. We will be presenting a list of promises that the ABVP has delivered soon.” Earlier this month, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the return of the U-Special buses. It was once a popular transport option for students of the varsity, especially those living in far-flung villages on the outskirts.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing, Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), is contesting under a new name — a decade after its parent party launched its youth wing, the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS). While CYSS contested DU and Panjab University elections, it faded from Delhi’s student landscape until its reemergence this summer.

Deepak Bansal, once a DUSU joint secretary in 2011 and an ABVP loyalist who joined CYSS in 2023, is steering the campaign. He said the organisation is committed to breaking the dominance of Jats and Gurjars in the four panel posts.

“This time at DUSU, we are trying to pitch an SC/ST candidate as one of the main four panel posts. No one fields a candidate from the marginalised community, but this year, ASAP will be changing that. We are taking registrations for nominations irrespective of caste or money. We see Rahul Gandhi coming to DU and speaking with the marginalised students, but how many times has NSUI fielded someone from the marginalised community? Additionally, when the ABVP came to power, it said it would provide a 50% concession on Metro passes, which never happened. We will be taking up this issue. There is also a signature campaign going on in the matter of fee hike in colleges.”
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI), which contested in an alliance last year, believe new restrictions could level the playing field.

AISA state secretary Abhigyan told The Indian Express, “After the Delhi High Court’s verdict against defacement last year, it is going to be a real advantage for us to see how ABVP is going to contest this election without splashing their name across the city. They will have to hit the ground, go from classroom to classroom and talk to students — that’s what AISA always did.”

He added, “We will also be taking up the introduction of the 4th year under the NEP and how the dilution of education is happening at DU by introducing Value Added Courses, which are of no importance to students. We have also started approaching every other party, except for the ABVP, to form an alliance. The main aim is to make sure the ABVP doesn’t win.”

Last year, NSUI’s Ronak Khatri was elected president and Lokesh Choudhary joint secretary, while ABVP’s Mitravinda Karanwal and Bhanu Pratap Singh won secretary and vice-president posts, respectively. The counting of votes, however, was stayed by the Delhi High Court over allegations of large-scale defacement of sites across the city by poll candidates. Votes were allowed to be counted only two months after the September election.

This year, candidates for the four central posts have until 3 pm on September 10 to submit their nominations. Each submission must include a demand draft of Rs 500, an affidavit, and a bond of Rs 1 lakh — the latter has drawn flak from several student bodies.