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No Fear No Favour

DUSU elections 2017: In the midst of ideological clash, Delhi University goes to poll

The polling for the Delhi University (DU) began on Tuesday for the next match of student representatives. The voting for the morning students is open from 8:30 am to 1 pm while the evening classes students will get the chance to vote from 3 pm to 7:30 pm.

The candidates have been campaigning long and hard, with posters plastered across almost every inch of the campus, and have been looking at issues such as transportation and accommodation.

This election will also see the ideological conflict as the violence at Ramjas where the Left-leaning student outfits clashed with the RSS-backed ABVP.

The major players in the fray include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Congress’ student outfit National Students Union of India. The left wing All India Students Association (AISA) is also one of the more vocal participants.
“For the college union elections, I will vote for the candidates who came and met us personally; those who helped us out during the admission time and the first few days in college, about accommodation, books, exploration of the campus. For DUSU, I think I will have to rely on which candidates the seniors in my college are supporting,” said Girish Kumar Gudda, a first year Life Sciences student at Ramjas College.

After the thumping majority in Jawahar Lal Nehru Student Union’s (JNUSU) election to the left union, where the polls are contested on national and political issues, the DUSU polls many times determined by muscle and money power and grassroots issues.

For DU students, connectivity, accommodation, drinking water and canteen facilities still remain major concerns. However, this year, many believe what happened at Ramjas College earlier this year and the allegedly growing violence on campus will have a direct impact on their decision when they reach the polling booth.

Divyanshu Gupta, a student of Ram Lal Anand College said, “This year it will not be just about local issues but students will ideological preference at the back of their mind too while voting and there are high chances of polarisation of votes among two main students ‘outfit in the campus politics.”
The ideological battle lines are drawn mainly between the ABVP and AISA, who had clashed at Ramjas earlier this year; but many say it might actually be the NSUI who might emerge the winner in the midst of the tussle

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