Caste votes on campus

Delhi University8217;s election politics mimics the mainstream in more ways than one

The election to Delhi University8217;s Student Union, which takes place today, is as big as it gets. Not only are over one lakh voters involved in the exercise, every party that calls itself political has a stake in it. These polls have often been slammed for being all about pretty faces but if you look a little deeper, there are bigger problems that demand attention.

The most popular parties in the running each year 8212; the NSUI Congress8217; youth wing and the ABVP affiliated to the BJP 8212; have calculated formulae, based on caste, which have been perfected over the years. Candidates are fielded to target those communities that do vote. Says a NSUI worker, 8220;It is the Jat and Gujjar vote banks that really get in the votes. Therefore candidates from these communities are favoured.8221;

In many ways, varsity elections have come to reflect mainstream elections. Consider this: rivals NSUI and ABVP have fielded candidates from the same community. Vikas Dahiya, vice-presidential candidate from the ABVP, is pitted against NSUI8217;s Abhimanyu Singh. Both are Jats. For the post of joint-secretary, NSUI has put up Tarun Tanwar against ABVP8217;s Surendar. Both are Gujjars. Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental puts it this way, 8220;I urge students not to contest elections on the basis of caste.8221;

This year there are some feeble counter-currents: an eclectic panel mooted by the Progressive Students Organisation PSO, which had broken away from the ABVP two years ago; and the United Students, a fresh new group of students who organised the campaign 8216;Justice for Jessica Lal8217;.

8220;The time of caste-based politics is over. We have a panel that has a Tibetan and a Muslim as we want to represent other communities too,8217;8217; says Vijay Kumar Mishra from the PSO. Aaditya Dar, presidential candidate from the US, is more forthcoming. 8220;I never voted in these elections, as they are full of money power and caste considerations. We have an intelligent campaign targeting students like myself who will never become part of the electoral process,8217;8217; he says.

Yet as long as student parties remain enmeshed with mainstream parties, things won8217;t change. In their campaigns this year the ABVP reflected the issues that the BJP is currently preoccupied with, including the compulsory singing of Vande Mataram in schools and accusations against the sealing drive by the Congress-run Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The NSUI, meanwhile, is taking credit for the introduction of the two per cent cess on corporates in the UPA budget. There are no explanations on why these issues are at all relevant to student elections in an university.

The unspoken truth is this: as long as student parties rent money and ideologies from mainstream actors, caste politics will flourish in Delhi University.