Delhi University is one of the most prestigious central universities in India both for academics and fun. The most fun season when you can enjoy your college life is during the fests and the time of elections which makes you realise the meaning of being a responsible citizen as well. Elections are held every five years in our country for all the tiers of the government. But in Delhi University, which is the epicentre of student politics, we experience a unique political season every year in August-September. Is this election really a representation of student leaders or is it a platform for future politicians?
Most of the student unions are supported by political parties like the Bharatiya Janta Party, Indian National Congress or the new entrant in student politics the Aam Aadmi Party. This election fever starts right from your admission days. I was an ordinary student coming from a small town of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and just like other outstation students, I too was unaware of the fact that the people offering their help repeatedly asking at the time of admission, are trying to making an impression on your mind for the upcoming elections.
We started our colleges in July, and the fever was not at its peak but as the days passed and it was finally August you could easily here students shouting “vote and support XYZ” etc. The other day when I was in our canteen, many students just buzzed in and stood on the tables and shouting like wild animals, the same slogan of ‘vote and support’. The most comical thing I experienced in my first year at one of the South Campus colleges was that every single candidate who approached us asking for a vote would say, “Support the deserving candidate.”
Furthermore, if you will listen to the stories from different candidates, you will realise that A would disagree with B, B with A and so on. So, this is not a lone case, as we see in our national politics, most of the leaders agree to disagree on the basis of their ideologies. The meme culture also plays a significant part. Students get many memes in their WhatsApp inbox, so, a pro tip for every student who doesn’t really want to get the ‘vote and support’ messages every day for the next one month then kindly don’t share your number with anyone. I remember receiving a meme that stated- “When your college is rumoured to have the most fights on the campus and people ask – Darr lagta hoga na college mein? And your reply is – Ye kahan darr, yeh to zindagi hai.” To avoid such WhatsApp forwards, do not give your number to anyone.
Fighting during the campaigns is nothing new; everyone is aware that if the election is arriving, you will get to see some ‘masala fights’ in almost every college of the university. Many of the central universities have student union elections, but we only get so excited about this particular election because it is happening in Delhi and the sad reality of our news channels is that they are Delhi centric. A few days back I read somewhere that one of the party’s member slapped a girl from North Campus and we also got the news that two student wings will form a coalition this year. So, yes these elections are exciting, they get violent sometimes, but still a platform to express your dissent as a student. We must select our representative keeping in mind that they are the right person to address our issues at the university level.
Although the situation of violence is not a big issue this time compared to earlier elections, we are still lagging behind in completely stopping violence in colleges. This is the time when we as students can really raise our issues because we are familiar with the ground realities. These elections are a platform for responsible leaders who are not here just for indulging in politics but to really question the authorities and find
solutions for various student-related issues. From my experience in the first year at this prestigious central university, I have a feeling my next two years would be fun too.
If you are seeking admission in DU, then don’t forget to enjoy your days in DU, explore more and enjoy every single season in your college life with your buddies and enjoy elections as well. Because elections are the only time when you really get a feeling of being responsible. Don’t forget to join any club in your respective society and most importantly do not forget to study!