The start of college politics in DU

With DU elections coming up, student wings of political parties have started working overtime already, to varied reactions from the university community.With DU elections coming up, student wings of political parties have started working overtime already, to varied reactions from the university community.With DU elections coming up, student wings of political parties have started working overtime already, to varied reactions from the university community.With DU elections coming up, student wings of political parties have started working overtime already, to varied reactions from the university community.doweshowbellyad=0; Voting time at DU (TOI Photo)
With DU elections coming up, student wings of political parties have started working overtime already, to varied reactions from the university community.
With new students joining DU, the student wings of political parties have become proactive. Each party has it’s own target – they have to run membership drives to achieve numbers in terms of support. For the same, incentives are offered to students, deals are struck and freshers parties are thrown by the dozen. And hostels are the central points of all these activities, as they are clear targets for student leaders – the bubbly flows freely, discussions galore welcome you all the time and this is the start of real campaigning.
Every group is busy interacting with students to garner their support. Incentives like movie tickets, recharge cards and parties are generally on offer. A hosteller at Hindu college says, “During elections, student union members take whopping amounts of money from various political parties. There is no upper limit to the amount these people are willing to spend. Though the official limit is only Rs 10,000, everyone knows that the amount actually spent runs into lakhs. They distribute pens, diaries and last year, they even gave movie tickets at some of the colleges.”
Hence, it is clear that political outfits are willing to spend any amount of money to get the majority to vote for them. “We sponsor welcome parties for freshers, as they are important. However, I’ll not term them booze parties. We interact with new students and hear their concerns and also take suggestions. It is a democratic process,” says NSUI president Nadeem Javed.
While the NSUI claims having made 35,000 new members with the target set at one lakh, ABVP says it has 25,000 new members. With elections due on 8 September this year, activities will soon be in over-drive mode.
Warden of Hindu College Ish Mishra says, “DUSU politics is a replica of Indian politics. There are two parties competing here too. The kind of money involved is not news to anybody. The student union leaders come to the hostels each year – distribute things, liquor included. We restrain all this as much as we can. Last year, we prohibited vehicles from entering the hostel.”
Even colonies like Kamla Nagar, Model Town, Hudson Lines, Mukherjee Nagar, Shanti Niketan, Munirka and Amar Colony, which are student hubs, are not left out. “There is a category of students that looks forward to the election process. They are excited about the time because it gives them a false sense of power. They roam around in open jeeps, shout slogans, pick up brawls and party till late in the night,” says Vicky, a student at Moti Lal Nehru college.
The college authorities are slightly worried about elections. Principal, Hans Raj College, SR Arora says, “Colleges don’t benefit from DUSU elections. Student leaders come to hostels and classes, distribute pamphlets, promise things and after they win, they forget everything. We will not let them enter the hostel after 10 pm and no parties will be allowed inside the hostel premises. The campaigning will go on only during the day.”