Students at Delhi University staged a protest outside the Arts faculty in North Campus on Saturday, denouncing the perceived unjust denial of the Bhim Army Students Federation-Fraternity Movement alliance’s candidacy in the upcoming Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election.
On Friday, September 15, the DUSU Election Committee made the decision to reject the nominations of all BASF-Fraternity Alliance candidates, including the presidential candidate Shalider Singh, as well as the previously approved nomination of the vice-presidential candidate, Yaseen K Mohammed.
“Upon asking the reason for canceling the candidature of the Dalit-Muslim alliance, the election commission couldn’t come up with an explanation”, said Lubaib Basheer, national general secretary of Fraternity Movement.
Members and supporters of the Fraternity Movement-BASF gathered outside the Election Commission’s office on Saturday to seek clarification regarding the disqualification of their candidacies.
Hanan, the general secretary of Fraternity Movement DU, said, “Despite an hour of waiting, the Election Office intentionally refrained from providing any clarification. Subsequently, our members started a peaceful protest. Security guards intervened to prevent students from approaching the DU Election Office for an explanation.”
Hanan accused the police guards of physically mistreating both male and female students. She claimed that they even attempted to forcibly remove the clothing and footwear of students.
She further said, “The authorities, along with the security personnel, attempted to scatter the peaceful gathering without paying any heed to our demands.”
Ashutosh S Bodh, the President of BASF DU and a member of the National Core Committee, said to Maktoob, “The University’s audacious actions have guaranteed that caste and wealth will continue to dominate this year’s election, as they have in the past.”
On Thursday, the candidacies of two alliance members from Hindu College were unjustly denied, despite their eligibility including good attendance and strong academic achievements, preventing them from participating in the elections, the alliance leaders alleged.
The alliance leaders have also stated their plan to take the matter to court.
In the upcoming Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election, four candidates are vying for the position of President. Tushar Dedha represents the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), while Hitesh Gulia is running on the ticket of the Congress-led National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). Aiyesha Ahmed Khan is the candidate backed by the left-leaning All India Students Association (AISA), and Arif Siddiqui is the nominee from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).
In 2019, the BJP-backed ABVP won three posts out of four, with the secretary post clinched by NSUI.
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