The ABVP’s aim is to defeat anti-national students’ bodies, says BJP leader Vijender Gupta.
The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working on plans to win the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections that will be held on 12 September this year. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parsishad (ABVP), the BJP’s students’ arm in the university, had failed to retain the DUSU panel last year.
Sources have said that Delhi BJP general secretary Ravinder Gupta and South Delhi parliamentarian Ramesh Bidhuri will play a key role in preparations for the DUSU polls.
A source close to BJP’s Delhi unit told The Sunday Guardian: “Once again, the BJP has given the responsibility of managing the DUSU elections to Ravinder Gupta who is general secretary of the party’s Delhi unit. Also, unlike last year, this time South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri has been given a greater role in managing the DUSU polls. Last year, Bidhuri was sidelined by the party regarding DUSU poll affairs.”
The reason for the ABVP’s defeat last year had been attributed to infighting in the BJP’s Delhi unit. However, sources said that this time, the party has overcome all such problems and is confident of winning the DUSU polls.
Unlike the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where the Left-backed students’ wing has been mostly winning since inception of the university, the ABVP has emerged as an attractive choice for the DUSU.
Vijender Gupta, an incumbent BJP legislator from Delhi, told The Sunday Guardian: “Our party is confident that the existing Delhi unit will work to regain the DUSU panel. ABVP is a nationalist students’ organisation and it is working for the welfare of students and the country. The aim of the ABVP is to defeat anti-national students’ organisations like the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Aam Aadmi party’s Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS).”
“The AISA and other students’ organisations are promoting urban Naxalism and are trying to turn Delhi University into a JNU which has been a den of urban Naxals. You can see how AISA and CYSS have formed an alliance to counter the nationalist ABVP, but the BJP is confident that students of DU will not support any anti-national group and its activities,” Gupta said.
According to experts, in case of a triangular contest between the NSUI (National Students’ Union of India, the Congress’ students’ wing), ABVP and the AISA-CYSS coalition, the ABVP has a chance of emerging victorious in the DUSU polls. However, the CYSS has a nominal presence in DU politics, but the ASIA has improved its performance in DU in the recent past.
A university statement said: “Nomination papers for the DUSU election of DUSU office-bearers can be submitted to the Office of the Chief Election Officer, latest by 4 September.”
“The scrutiny of nomination papers will be held the same day, after which the list of duly nominated candidates will be published. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till the afternoon of 5 September,” the statement added.