The Hindu : Front Page : Congress raj over Delhi University campus again

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Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
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Congress raj over Delhi University campus again

Parul Sharma

- PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

THE WINNERS: The Delhi University Students’ Union election winners -- Amrita (president), Manish Choudhary (secretary), Devraj Tehlan (vice-president) and Khushboo Sharma (joint secretary) -- with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Repeating its performance of 2005-06, the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India routed its arch-rival, the BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, making a clean sweep of all the four posts at stake in the Delhi University Students’ Union elections, the results of which were announced on Saturday.

NSUI’s presidential candidate Amrita emerged victorious with 10,589 votes, while her nearest rival Abhishek Tandon of ABVP polled 6,255. For the post of vice-president, NSUI’s Devraj Tehlan defeated ABVP’s Suman Lata Dagar by 3,517 votes. Devraj polled 8,963 votes against Suman Lata’s 5,446. Manish Choudhary of NSUI polled 7,906 votes to win the post of secretary. His nearest rival, Renu of ABVP, managed 4,171 votes. NSUI’s Khushboo Sharma, who replaced Rinku Tanwar after the fresh scrutiny ordered by the Delhi High Court before the elections, polled 6,629 votes for the post of joint secretary, while Manvender Singh of ABVP polled 4,470.

Barring once, the NSUI has been winning the post of DUSU president for the past seven years. For three consecutive years, a woman candidate of the organisation has successfully contested the top post.

“This shows our commitment towards women. We have always focused on adequate representation for women in our panel. There are so many issues on the campus like safety of girl students which the women candidates can understand better,” said NSUI spokesperson Kuntal Krishna on Saturday.

Soon after the results were announced, the victorious NSUI foursome rushed out of the counting centre at New Police Lines to meet their supporters who were shouting slogans in favour of the student outfit. Flashing smiles and the victory sign, the four accompanied by the supporters made their way to 10 Janpath in an open jeep to seek Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s “blessings”.

Unlike in the past, there were fewer NSUI supporters outside the counting centre this time round. Also, no drum-beaters were seen and no one broke into an impromptu jig. The NSUI supporters threw pamphlets of the winning candidates up in the air, littering the whole space outside the venue.

After the announcement of the results, the loudest cheers and slogans were raised in favour of Devraj, whose supporters claimed that his victory proved that the “accusations” levelled against him in a recent sting operation were only meant to “tarnish” his image.

However, outgoing DUSU president Amrita Dhawan told reporters that the NSUI had set up a committee to look into the issue. “Though the whole concept of sting operation is now being questioned, if Devraj is found guilty, some disciplinary action could be taken against him,” she said.

For its part, the ABVP claimed that its candidates were fighting not against the NSUI but “against the State and the Central governments”: “These elections have witnessed the misuse of power and governmental machinery. The Principals and chairpersons of the Delhi Government colleges were pressurised to work for the NSUI,” alleged ABVP spokesperson Nakul Bharadwaj.

Reacting to the clean sweep by the NSUI, organisations like the Students’ Federation of India and Youth for Equality said they were satisfied with the performance of their candidates.

“Last year we secured 6 per cent of the total votes. Now in 2007 it has gone up to 10.56 per cent. But the biggest statement has come from the electorate, with students not turning up to vote in DUSU polls as they were not convinced of the election process this time. We feel vindicated,” claimed SFI Delhi secretary Albeena Shakil.

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