The environment of Pondicherry University (PU) is charged up ahead of the upcoming Students’ Council Election 2024-25 on 18 December. The students can be seen enthusiastically campaigning with their posters, banners and manifesto. It is important to note that the election festival is going to happen after a long hiatus of five-year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students will get a chance to represent themselves democratically in university administration.
Earlier, the PU administration announced the upcoming Students’ Council Election 2024-25 on its website on 14 December. The circular released by the PU administration gives clear instructions to the student voters, student organisations, and candidates.
The administration gave one day for campaigning. Today is the first and last day of campaigning. Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Student Union of India (NSUI) and Student Federation of India (SFI) are the three leading student organisations which are contesting the elections with a few smaller student organisations in the PU campus.
ABVP is contesting alone, whereas NSUI is in coalition with the Muslim Student Federation (MSF) and the Ambedkar Student Association. SFI is contesting with the Bahujan Student Federation (BSF). After talking to the student, Think for India (TFI) predicts it to be tight triangular fight between ABVP, NSUI, and SFI. Some independent candidates are also contesting and trying their luck.
The elections will be conducted in three tiers. The first is for graduation, where a candidate from graduation will be allowed to vote for the Graduation candidate. In the second tier, master’s students will be allowed to contest and vote. The third tier is for PhD, where scholars will be allowed to contest and vote. Each student was allowed to cast four votes for four candidates in order to choose four representatives for themselves.
The administration has constituted an election observing body to facilitate a smooth election for students. The body consists of eight people from the university administration, including professors, the head of the department (HOD), and the librarian.
One of the observers, Dr Nanda Kishor MS, Associate Professor and HOD of the Department of Politics and International Studies, said, “Student council elections are an essential process in the University. As we speak, most of the students are the future leaders. As observers, our job is to essentially see to it that the voting process is fair and fulfils all the requirements of the university election commission in parallel to the Lyngdoh Committee.”
Approximately, a hundred students are contesting for the election all over campus. The main demand of the student is to bring conducive living conditions to the campus. Some standard promises in all of these Student organisations are enhancing hygiene and accessibility for the students and improving infrastructure, including fresh water to drink, good ratios and bus services for hostelers. Other manifestos talked about establishing placement cells and addressing the shortage of faculty members in different departments.
We talked to some of the candidates who are contesting from the School of Social Science. What they said:
Sumanta Khatiwara, an NSUI candidate, said, “I am contesting for a student politics experience. Winning and losing an election is part of student politics, but the experience we get helps a lot in life. Contesting elections and giving people the option to choose are democratic values, and we, as future leaders of this country, should adhere to them.”
Sumanta added that he has been on campus for the last four years and has put students right first in their time of need. My personal relationship with students is good, and I am leveraging that for the election.
Deepanjali, another candidate from the second tier contesting from ABVP, said, “We had integrated nationalistic ideas with campus politics. ABVP has always fought for student rights, and we will continue to do that even if we lose or win.”
She looked energetic and confident during the conversation.
An independent candidate, Abi Deva Seemandhiraa, said, “She is contesting to increase women’s representation in student politics.”
She further added that I love to engage in extracurricular activities apart from my studies for personal growth. Having female representation is essential in university campuses to understand female students’ problems and day-to-day struggles, which they sometimes feel uncomfortable sharing with others.
She further added, “I have been here on this campus for 3 years – consistent observer of the campus issues and admin flaws… Pro admin campus, I’m just adding more quality and research to all the demands that I raise, as well as student-led initiatives and communities for building proper CVs, and students should be placed in a better place.”
Shashi Bhushan, a PhD scholar who is contesting independently, remarked, “Due to lack of student amenities and scholarly engagements, contesting the election and bringing about the change has become his top priority.
A student who preferred to keep his identity confidential, commented, “We are closely observing the election and are excited to vote for the first time. This is the first time I am experiencing something like this in my student career, and it’s fascinating for me. For me, the candidate matters, not the ideology. I will vote according to the capabilities of the candidate.”
