For Aparajitha,lineage alone won’t seal victory

It does not look like the first time something like this has happened. “We are faced with empty campuses. Students are taken away by the bigger organisations for rain dance parties and the like. Also,the DUTA strike has hit our campaigning,” says the second-year Political Science (Hons) student of Hindu College.

We are talking of AISF,whose 2009 presidential candidate Bajinder Singh surprised himself by coming second only by 11 votes,largely thanks to his name coming first on the list. “But we campaigned hard. Unfortunately,the media did not see us,even though last year’s election was supposed to see the rise of the new Left,” says Aparijitha,who “lost two marks for attendance” because of the campaign.

“We are not leaving out any college. We have gone to the North,South,East and West; visiting even far-flung colleges. We are reviving our organisation,and are yet to have strong cadres. We might just end up winning,” she says. And adds as an afterthought,“Optimism never dies.”

After the ice is broken,it is time to pop the question of her “background”. “People are prejudiced. They think I have an upper hand. I have worked my way up till here. In this organisation,only if you work,you get (higher). If you do not,you are out of the game,” she says. Aparijitha is on the National Council of AISF. She is also the state joint secretary and is on the State Council too.

“My parents have been influential in different ways. My father asks me to be responsible; to work hard. On the other hand,my mother always tells me to meet as many people as possible and enjoy whatever I do,” she says before attending a call. It is from a Hindi media organisation. “…it is just a coincidence…my aptitude happens to be like my parents’… for the time being,I want to be a bureaucrat,but who knows,I may decide to stay in politics…” There is a lot of explaining to do.

Her parents take an active interest in her campaign. “There is a full-on reporting session every day that goes on for a long time.”

Delhi University does not go easy on the Left. “On Wednesday morning,she was stopped outside a college,and some people tore our posters saying all votes from the college would go only to ABVP. She faced them all; and even walked in to lodge a complaint against them,” says campaign coordinator Amarjeet Kaur. In a university where lineage is a badge of courage,she is on her own.