DU students campaign for polls

NEW DELHI, November 20: Jhuggi dwellers are like BA first year students. Both are difficult to convince. If we ask jhuggi dwellers to vote f...

NEW DELHI, November 20: Jhuggi dwellers are like BA first year students. Both are difficult to convince. If we ask jhuggi dwellers to vote for the Congress, they claim all parties are the same,” says Delhi University councillor Mukund Sahay. He, along with several other students, is actively campaigning for Congress candidate Mangat Ram Singhal from the Adarsh Nagar constituency.

Student leaders from various colleges of Delhi University have formed their own groups to campaign for the assembly polls. Each group comprises about 20-25 students who are bunking classes to garner support for their respective candidates.

The campaigners are not bothered about attendance problems. “We have to rise above university matters. When we are thinking at the Vidhan Sabha level, how can we be bothered about attendance for classes?” asks Sahay.

The student leaders are paid for their services by their respective political parties. A Congress campaigner disclosed on the condition of anonymity: “The minimum amount of money a party pays to a student who has campaigned for a day is Rs 200. Frankly, there’s no limit. The more influence the student leader has, the more money he makes”.

Sahay’s group meets at the DUSU office at 9 a.m. every morning. A group member says: “We meet here and then set out together for our constituency. We spend the entire day there.” The students go door-to-door canvassing for support. The Adarsh Nagar group claims to have visited 45,000 jhuggis in the area.

While the Congress-backed National Students Union of India (NSUI) is open about campaigning for the parent party, the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claims to be “unofficial” about it. Jaibir Rana, president, DUSU, told Express Newsline: “We are not campaigning for the BJP at a formal level. At the informal level, students are doing their best”.

K K Panda, PRO, Delhi University, says that DU students play an important role during elections. “The DUSU president is a powerful person,” he says.“He can influence at least 5.5 lakh voters from different constituencies.” The professors at DU also understand the predicament of the students.

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Student leaders like Sahay are proud that they have not visited the university for days. Anil Solanki, vice-president, DUSU, leaves home at 8 a.m. and does not return home before 10 p.m. “I campaign for the Congress in all the constituencies,” he says. “The youth are a deciding factor during elections. And we try to talk them into voting for the Congress”.

Apart from making money, the student campaigners are hopeful that they will make “contacts” during the assembly polls. Sahay discloses: “When I know my future lies in politics, its important that I start early. I have a long way to go — from DUSU to the Vidhan Sabha to the Parliament”.