Times Of India
Neha Pushkarna
NEW DELHI: Even amidst restrictions by Delhi University (DU) on expenditure and campaigning methods for DU students union (DUSU) elections to be held on September 5, next few days in DU are going to be high on political fervour. The real action of DUSU elections may be visible outside the campus. Most parties say they would not flout rules but admit that printed posters, canvassing on vehicles and the usual sops for students - such as free movie tickets, booze parties - will all be available beyond the campus. The student outfits of parties are warming up for the elections. National Students Union of India (NSUI) started making its presence felt by inviting celebrities like film director Mahesh Bhatt and actor Riya Sen on the campus on Thursday. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidates will start reaching out to students from Monday while other parties will shortly be deciding on their course of campaigning. "We are warming up now. But the curbs brought in by DU this time will definitely affect our campaigning. We will try to abide by the rules but we are naturally against it. Who can reach out to 80,000 students on foot in less than a week of campaigning?'' said Anand Pandey, national spokesperson, NSUI. He added that it would be impossible to stick to the budget of Rs 5,000 as even the hand-made posters came for a huge price. "One needs a lot of posters for a mass event like DUSU polls. Getting one big hand-made poster ready and then putting it up in all the colleges will cost at least Rs 100,'' said Pandey. Members of other parties also agreed on this and said that it was impractical to expect that DU's code of conduct would be followed. "Sticking to DU regulations is not possible. The expenditure overshoots every time,'' said ABVP general secretary Niharika Sharma. Said Surender, president, Youth For Social Justice (YFSJ), "Printed posters would be put up elsewhere in the city if not the campus. Besides, canvassing also includes lot many things which are prohibited, especially the free booze that flows in hostels during night.'' Though YFSJ is not contesting the DUSU elections, the party will still go for door-to-door canvassing to 'encourage' students to vote for the right candidate. NSUI and ABVP may always be campaigning on a commercial scale but other parties have plans to put technology to use for campaigning. "We will use cost-effective measures like sending e-mails and SMSes,'' said a YFE member.
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