New Delhi: Women candidates will be at the forefront of the upcoming Delhi University Students’ Union (Dusu) polls, with both the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) nominating women for the president’s post in what they describe as a deliberate push for gender representation on campus.NSUI has named Joslyn Nandita Choudhary (23) as its presidential nominee — the first woman in 17 years to be fielded by the organisation for the top post. Choudhary, a postgraduate student of Buddhist Studies, has been involved in campaigns around women’s rights, campus safety and representation since 2019.Other NSUI candidates include Rahul Jhansla for vice-president, Kabir for secretary and Luv Kush Badhana for joint secretary. The outfit said its campaign will centre on issues of infrastructure, menstrual leave, social justice and alleged political interference in faculty appointments.The Left alliance of SFI and AISA has fielded Anjali from Indraprastha College for Women as its candidate for president. She will be joined by candidates Sohan Kumar (vice-president), Abhinandana Pratyashi (secretary) and Abhishek Kumar (joint secretary). The bloc said it would campaign on women’s safety, hostel facilities, metro concessions and greater representation for marginalised groups, projecting itself as an “alternative voice” against “money and muscle power” in campus politics.ABVP, affiliated with RSS, has chosen Aryan Mann, an MA Library Science student and football player from Haryana, as its candidate for president. Its full panel includes Govind Tanwar (vice-president), Kunal Chaudhary (secretary) and Deepika Jha (joint secretary). The organisation has highlighted its record of campaigning against fee hikes and for infrastructure improvement.The AAP-affiliated Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) has fielded Divyanshu Singh Yadav, a Campus Law Centre student from Bihar, as its presidential nominee.Dusu elections for the 2025-26 session will be held on Sept 18, with counting the following day.In last year’s polls, NSUI returned to the union after seven years, winning the posts of president and joint secretary, while ABVP secured the post of vice-president and retained the post of secretary.This year’s election is being held under strict enforcement of Lyngdoh Committee guidelines against defacement. On Wednesday, Delhi High Court directed the university to ensure the polls are conducted in an orderly and peaceful manner and to file an affidavit by Sept 15 detailing compliance measures.
