NSUI, AISA all set for polls, release their manifestoes

NSUI and AISA released their manifestoes for Delhi University Students’ Union election on Thursday.

 Demand for more hostels, re-totalling of marks and special chance for final year students top their agenda this year. 

The All India Students’ Association (AISA) also declared names of all the four candidates contesting for DUSU polls, while the BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) will declare the name of their candidates on Friday.

Madhurima, a third year student of BA Economics of Hindu College and women’s right activist, is the presidential candidate of the ultra-Left AISA. She said issues doing rounds in student politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University would not mar their chances of making inroads in DU student politics.  

Confronted with charges of sexual harassment, the AISA-led JNU students’ union has come under attack from the student parties. Last month, student union chief and joint secretary had to step down from their post after being cornered by the university Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) for making a public disclosure of a sexual harassment case filed against them.  

“The organisation had asked them to step down from their posts. Their resignation is a statement of party’s intent,” the Delhi State Secretary of AISA, Sunny Kumar, said.He said the student body has expended its cadre to 45 DUSU-affiliated colleges by basing their campaign on issues that concern students. 

Claiming that AISA will be a fringe player, ABVP said their main contest is with (NSUI). ABVP, which swept DUSU election last year – bagging three of the four posts, is going to release their manifesto on September 8. 

“The manifesto for DUSU election is based on student feedback,” the national president of NSUI, Roji M John, said. Hostels, racial discrimination, revaluation, uniform admission rules and course curriculum in Hindi are the major poll plank for the Congress-affiliated student outfit.

AISA will be contesting election based on issues like concessional passes in the Delhi Metro, recognition of student bus pass in all buses, expansion of hostel facilities and making way for JNU-style forums for debate like general body meetings and presidential debate.

The student group has fielded Aman Nawaz for vice-president, Vikramaditya for joint secretary’s post, while Aman Gautam, a first year student of Sri Venkateswara College, is their candidate for the secretary’s post.