The DUSU Affair

Ihave finally got some time to rest,” says DUSU president Nupur Sharma. An Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad candidate and a student of Law Centre-I, Nupur defeated her rival, NSUI’s Sonia Sapra, by a margin of 1,739 votes. Calling this triumph of experience over amateur aspirations, Nupur says, “There were talks about how students vote going by the looks of the candidates and not their qualities. But my victory has proven all this wrong. I have experience on my side and DUSU elections are certainly not a beauty pageant. Now is the time to begin the real battle.” The 23-year-old is also clear on what tops her to-do list right now. “I have to make sure that the faith that DU students have lost in DUSU is restored. Low voter turnout during the elections vouches for the fact that students are either not aware of what DUSU stands for or are simply not interested in being a part of it.” And like all things political, Nupur does not forego the opportunity of taking a dig at the out-going office bearers. “For the past five years, no concrete work was being done in DU. A ban on smoking was announced but not properly enforced. Students would sit in the DUSU office and smoke and drink openly – then how were the office bearers expecting the DU students to follow the rules? A lot was also said about the upgradation of college campuses, but some colleges still function out of almost ruin-like buildings.”