DU Students’ Union election:First Gen-Z election after CJP protest; Satya Niketan hostel collapse a major issue

“Convoys of luxury cars arrive amid slogan-shouting. As soon as a leader steps out, he is showered with garlands. Firecrackers go off in the background. Supporters stand atop cars and raise slogans. Amid the sound of drums, leaflets and flowers are thrown into the air. As one candidate leaves, another from a different party arrives.” This may sound like a scene from a state assembly or parliamentary election, but it is actually the campaign scene for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. Voting for the DUSU elections is scheduled for September 18. Campaigning ended at 5 pm on September 16. The results will be announced on September 19. The DUSU election is significant because it is the first student union election to be held after the major CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. Delhi University has 2 campuses, 91 colleges, but elections are held in 52 Delhi University has two campuses — South and North Campus. The two campuses are around 15 km apart. Together, DU has 91 colleges, but not all colleges can vote in DUSU elections. Only 52 colleges and faculties directly participate in DUSU voting. Some major colleges, including St Stephen’s, Lady Shri Ram College and Jesus and Mary College, are also not part of DUSU. Issues being discussed among students… Mostly Gen Z students were seen during the CJP protests. Many of them were also from DU. On September 6, 12 people, including five DU students, were killed in the Satya Niketan PG building collapse. What are the issues concerning students in these student union elections being held after the CJP protests and among Gen Z voters? What impact has the Satya Niketan PG tragedy had on the elections? How are this year’s DUSU elections different from previous ones? To understand all this, Dainik Bhaskar spoke to students and candidates at different DU colleges. South Campus: Safety is the biggest issue, students want outsiders stopped We first reached South Campus to understand students’ concerns. Amid the noise and bustle of campaigning, ordinary students appeared clearly uncomfortable. Girls, in particular, seemed unhappy with people coming from outside. Ananya, a third-year BA English Honours student at PGDAV College, believes women’s safety is a major issue. Her classmate Harshita Chaudhary considers cleanliness on campus a major concern. She says no work is done after the student union wins, and the way elections are campaigned has not changed for years. Large vehicles and crowds cause problems. Issues caused by outsiders during elections are also ignored. Harshita believes the campaigning process needs to change. At South Campus’ PGDAV College, Himanshi, a second-year BA Programme student, also raises the issue of studies being disrupted by election campaigning. She says students should come together on issues such as the collapse of the PG building in Satya Niketan. Chinmay Singh, a BCom Honours student at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, also does not consider the campaigning methods appropriate. He says heavy pollution and noise cause major problems in classes. He is also troubled by the canteen and the long gaps between two classes. Like Chinmay, Alok, a first-year BSc Computer Science student at PGDAV College, is also dealing with the problem of classes being cancelled suddenly. Both Chinmay and Alok stressed that because DU does not have enough hostels, students have to pay ₹12,000–14,000 every month to PGs and brokers. Alok says that after seeing incidents involving PGs, the university should either provide compensation or build university-recognised hostels. Sanjay, another BCom Honours student living in South Campus, feels that everything at the college is just average. He wants further improvements in faculty and infrastructure. On the elections, he believes students’ issues are raised, but no work is done on them. North Campus: Expensive PGs, electricity bills and a severe shortage of hostels Most of DU’s well-known colleges are located in North Campus, including Miranda House, St Stephen’s and Hansraj College. Like South Campus, the biggest issue this time in North Campus is the demand for hostels. Vaishnav Seth, a first-year BA Economics Honours student at Shri Ram College of Commerce, lives in a PG because he did not get a hostel. He says rent for a room with double occupancy in areas such as Vijay Nagar is ₹30,000, putting a monthly burden of ₹15,000 on each student. He further says, “On top of the rent, we have to pay ₹15 per unit for electricity. The college’s annual fee is ₹30,000–40,000, but the cost of living in a PG is making education very expensive. The erratic class timings, with classes directly from 8 am to 2 pm, waste students’ entire day.” Chandan Kumar, a final-year MA Political Science student at Ramjas College, shares the same concern. He says that for the past 20–25 years, the administration and student unions have only made promises in the name of hostels. Shalini, from the Philosophy Department of the Faculty of Arts, considers women’s safety the biggest issue in North Campus. She says anyone from outside can enter such a large campus without any checking. During elections, influencers and outsiders freely enter the campus, making female students feel unsafe. Now, a look at the candidates ABVP candidate says hostel is their biggest issue The BJP’s student wing ABVP has fielded Yash Dabas for the president’s post this time. Before entering student politics, he was an international-level tennis player. Yash graduated from DU’s Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. He is currently pursuing an MA in Buddhist Studies at DU. Yash also agrees that hostels are a major issue this time. He says his focus is ensuring that every student gets a hostel and that every college has a separate hostel for female students. Referring to the Satya Niketan incident as a result of administrative negligence, Yash says, “Students lost their lives because of the administration’s negligence. I had already raised concerns about such buildings collapsing on my podcast a year ago. We assure students that as soon as we come to power, we will first conduct a ‘safety audit’ of every PG and hostel and make the report public.” NSUI campaign focuses on hostels, rent and women’s safety The Congress’ student wing NSUI has fielded Vijay Shankar Meena for the president’s post this time. He is pursuing an MA in Buddhist Studies at DU. He says his campaign is focused on hostels, rent and women’s safety. He alleges that ABVP has betrayed students. He says, “Our three biggest issues are the shortage of hostels, implementing the Rent Control Act to stop arbitrary rents charged by private PGs, and introducing menstrual leave for female students. Most importantly, there should be a ‘Metro Concession Pass’. ABVP has been promising this for the past 15 years, but this time they have removed it from their manifesto altogether.” Vijay also refers to the protest held at Jantar Mantar. He says its impact can be seen in these elections. NSUI students who were lathi-charged and faced pellet guns were also part of the protest. He says, “I was personally lathi-charged, which is why the enthusiasm among young people this time will be visible in the results on September 19.” Left (AISA-SFI) candidate unhappy with election campaigning methods In this year’s DUSU elections, Left student organisations AISA and SFI have fielded Ananya as their joint candidate for president. Ananya is the only female candidate contesting for the president’s post this time. Originally from Uttarakhand, she is a student at DU’s PGDAV College. Ananya considers money power, muscle power and women’s safety major election issues. Ananya claims that her campaign is completely different from the “goon politics” of other parties. She says, “Their Thars and Defenders do ‘bhaiya-bhaiya’ politics in the morning and catcall and harass girls in the evening. They freely break through the gates of women’s colleges and enter, while we ask teachers for permission before entering classrooms.” She alleges that politics in DU is driven only by money, power and factionalism. Ananya says ABVP and NSUI have forgotten students’ real issues. She claims that 97% of students have not received hostel accommodation to date. On her election promises, she says, “All women’s colleges should be made part of DUSU, and every college should have a ‘functional ICC’ (Internal Complaints Committee), so that girls know whom to approach if they face any kind of problem or harassment.”