Alliances firm up for DUSU elections

NEW DELHI: For the first time four student groups have joined hands to counter the bigger fish - NSUI and ABVP - in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections.
The Students Federation of India (SFI), Chhatra Lok Janshakti (CLJ), Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha (SCS) and Chhatra Rashtriya Janta Dal (CRJD) have formed an alliance for the DUSU poll on September 3.
The four parties will field one candidate each, the presidential candidate coming from the SFI.
"We are yet to decide the candidates," said Akhila Singh, a member of the SFI state committee. "We want to give students an alternative to vote for," she added.
Meanwhile, the ABVP declared its candidates for president on August 21. NSUI will announce its candidates on August 23, the day campaigning kicks off.
Even though student groups may shy away from accepting that the glamour factor is still an important part of the polls, the reality is otherwise.
Every student group and alliance has decided to field at least one woman candidate for any one of the four posts.
"We will have at least one woman candidate," affirmed NSUI national president Ashok Tanwar. NSUI received 38 applications from ''ticket'' hopefuls, of which nine are girls.
ABVP on the other hand added a twist. "For us maturity and leadership ability of the candidate matters," said state general secretary Nakul Bhardwaj.