Stiff competition in DUSU polls,slew of reforms promised

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) is trying to win the DUSU president’s post this year through Ajay Chikkara,a final year law student. A graduate from Shivaji College,this 24-year-old says that his priority will be to develop basic infrastructure in the university and “turn it into a world-class institution”. Others in the NSUI panel this year are Bhupinder Chaudhary,a first-year student at Motilal Nehru College,who is contesting for the post of Vice-President. Parag Sharma,an MA student of the Buddhist Studies department,will contest for the post of Secretary,and Ashish Chaudhary,an MBA graduate,will contest for the post of Joint Secretary.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP ) has Neha Singh,an MA (Buddhist Studies) student for President. For her,the most important issue is tackling corruption,besides opening new colleges in DU. “My father has contested local elections representing the Congress,but I have been with the ABVP since college,” she said.

ABVP’s manifesto will focus on Metro passes,more special buses for students,conversion of vacant OBC seats in the university to general,and scholarships for SC/ST students. Both ABVP and NSUI are planning to officially release their manifestos for the election on Tuesday.

The All India Students Association (AISA) has fielded Amit Srivastava,an MA (Political Science) student from Satyawati College as its presidential candidate. The AISA’s demands include “stalling the semester system for undergraduate programmes” and inclusion of presidential debates in the DUSU election system.