NSUI,ABVP felled by poll code,fringe players upbeat

NSUI,the Congress’s student wing,may be in for further trouble as Rahul Mathur,its joint-secretary candidate,was served a showcause notice on Saturday morning.

He has time till Monday evening to reply.

All candidates disqualified were earlier issued showcause notices for violating the Supreme Court ruling by using printed posters,vehicles and organising rallies during poll campaign in the varsity.

The disqualifications have made the likes of Students’ Federation of India (SFI),All India Students’ Association (AISA),Ambedkar Students’ Organisation of India (ASOI),Indian National Students’ Organisation (INSO) and Disha Student Organisation look at the September 4 elections with hopes of breaking the NSUI-ABVP monopoly in DUSU.

“This is a golden chance for us and,yes,we have to cover more colleges now,” SFI’s presidential candidate Mahaveer Singh Udar said. “We are redrawing our strategy in view of the changed scenario.”

AISA general secretary Ravi Rai said: “We are fighting for a win now. But,at the same time,we are aware how difficult the task is,for we have to generate much more handmade material in compliance with the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations.”

Disha Student Organisation,contesting for the first time in its 10 years of existence in Delhi University,is also beginning to look at the polls from a different angle. Disha convenor Navneet said,“Elections are not our priority,and we have consciously stayed away from it. The cadres are excited but at the same time worried over responsibilities that a victory would bring.”

Besides SFI’s Udar,other presidential candidates in fray are AISA’s Sunny Kumar,ASOI’s Deepika Kaul,Chetan Arya (INSO),and Disha’s Shivarth.

Worst-hit ABVP’s only saving grace is Kriti Wadhera: a fresher,Wadhera had not expected to be chosen and therefore had not campaigned for the post of vice-president beforehand.

The NSUI screening committee had taken considerable time on Thursday to announce names of its candidates for secretary and joint-secretary after its preferred candidates were caught in court cases and another defected to a rival organisation.

While both organisations are still fighting the polls,ABVP has moved the Supreme Court,claiming that the chief election officer’s decision was illegal. A hearing on the appeal is slotted for Monday.

NSUI national president Hibi Eden said,“Implementation of the Lyngdoh committee recommendations is a slow poison to student politics. Posters were put up much before the polls to welcome freshers,not for campaigning.”

NSUI sources said its first response was to boycott the polls but senior Congress leaders prevailed on the NSUI leadership to contest.

Sandeep Kumar of Hansraj College and Anuradha of Campus Law Centre were also disqualified — Kumar because he was contesting both university and college elections,and Anuradha because she had not responded to the showcause notice.

Disqualified

ABVP

* Rohit Chahal (president candidate)

* Lalit Chaudhry (general secretary)

* Ashok Khari (jt secretary)

NSUI

* Deepak Negi (president)

* Umesh Tanwar (vice-president candidate)