DU Students's Union election today; AAP's student wing won't contest
The Delhi University Students's Union (DUSU) is set to conduct its elections on Friday, following approval from the Delhi High Court. The court had initially threatened to postpone the polls due to vandalism on campus during election campaigns. However, it later allowed the elections to proceed under certain conditions. The court stipulated that counting and declaration of results could only occur after all defaced public property on campus was restored.
Court expresses concern over election transparency
A bench comprising Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela expressed serious concern about the lack of regulations and transparency in the DUSU elections. They noted that candidates were spending large sums of money on their campaigns. The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for October 21. In 2019, the court had dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) by lawyer Prashant Manchanda seeking a complete ban on defacement of public property by DUSU candidates.
Controversy and withdrawal in DUSU elections
The DUSU elections have been marred by controversy after Varun Choudhary, president of the National Students's Union of India (NSUI), alleged that people associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were appointed as electoral officers. Amid these allegations and questions about poll integrity, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, has withdrawn from the race.
CYSS to focus on youth-centric policies
Kamal Tiwari, party secretary of the CYSS, stated that their decision to withdraw from the elections was influenced by setbacks in the Punjab University polls last year. Instead, they will concentrate on promoting AAP's youth-centric policies in Vidhan Sabha constituencies. In 2023, Tushar Dedha from ABVP won the post of president, Abhi Dahiya from NSUI as vice-president and Aparajita from ABVP won secretary post while Sachin Basla also from ABVP won joint secretary post.
