Delhi University has allowed candidates for Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections to campaign through university website and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. To reach a wider audience the university has decided to allow the broadcast of speeches by the respective candidates on its website for the maximum allotted time of five minutes. The university has also allowed campaigning on its community radio but strictly barred to follow the “paid” means.
“They can use the university website for campaigning for a wider reach and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter could also be used for connecting with students. But the candidates are strictly barred from using paid services for campaigning. It will exceed the specific amount thus violating the guidelines issued for the DUSU polls,” Chief Election Officer, DS Rawat told The Pioneer.
The committee comprising of Rawat and two other officials of the university heading the polls would make the critical examination of the speech of candidates and edit it before uploading it on the website.
The speech would be uploaded in alphabetical order starting with the first name of the candidate. According to the time slots available, the candidates would be able to upload speeches from September 7 to September 9.
The DUSU elections are scheduled for September 11. Rawat had sent a letter to the political parties mainly the Congress, the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party asking for their co-operation in maintaining a distance from the student’s polls and directing their youth wings to follow code and conduct for a fair and transparent election. However, the relaxation of allowing campaigning on community radio and websites has been welcomed by the organisation.
The two main organisation contending against each other are the Congress youth wing National Students Union of India (NSUI) and BJP’s Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The Aam Aadmi Party has launched its students wing Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti which would also to contest against the two. The ABVP won all the four seats of the DUSU polls in the last election.