Rajasthan: Students’ union election process begins Thursday

JAIPUR: The process for students’ union polls will start from Thursday with the filing of nomination papers by candidates. Voting for the same will take place on August 27.
Both NSUI and ABVP are eagerly waiting to hear the names of top candidates of rival parties for Rajasthan University Students’ Union (RUSU).
Both the parties have shortlisted atleast three candidates for the post RUSU president. “The selection of a candidate for the top post also depends upon the candidate of the opposition party,” said Dron Yadav, a senior NSUI leader.
Both the parties are banking on the caste factor more than anything else. The polls are very crucial for the Congress and the BJP who are heading to contest the gram pachayat polls.
“Students’ union polls is always an indicator of the party’s popularity. This is reason that every candidate goes through several rounds of scrutiny before his final candidature,” said Hoshyar Meena, an ABVP leader.
Heavy rainfall in the state over the last few days has played a spoilsport for candidates and the parties. Student bodies have demanded postponement of the polls as incessant rains in several parts have made college buildings unfit.
Ravindra Sankhla, a ABVP leader seeking the president ticket from Maharishi Daynand Saraswati University (MDSU) in Ajmer, has demanded that election be postponed in districts which received heavy rainfall.
“No student group is ready to hold elections in the district due to heavy rains. I have submitted a representation to the district collector of Ajmer informing him about the situation,” said Sankhla. Similarly, student groups in Bhilwara, Chittorgarh and Udaipur have urged the district collectors to postpone the date of elections.
As elections are round the corner, localities like Bajaj Nagar, Raja Park and Malviya Nagar are jittery. Locals at Bajaj Nagar have accused the police of being lax. “Almost all the places have been taken on rent by the students which can viewed from the rising number of SUVs in the area. We have been demanding a complete ban on using these localities by students, but it fell on the deaf ears,” said Manish Verma, a shopkeeper at Bajaj Nagar.