History shows independent candidates more dominant in RU student union elections
Out of 37 presidents of RU, 17 were the Independent leaders. ABVP has secured the second position and NSUI the third position in winning the presidential post in RU student union elections. A reduction in the voting percentage of RU elections has also been reported over the past few years.
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Dominance of independent candidates in RU elections. File Photo.
Jaipur: Independent student leaders and rebels have proved to be more dominant than those fielded by ABVP and NSUI in the history of Rajasthan University student union elections.
Of 37 presidents of Rajasthan University Student Unions (RUSU), as many as 17 were independent candidates or rebels. ABVP has secured the second position and NSUI the third position in winning the presidential post. A reduction in the voting percentage of RU elections has also been reported over the past few years.
Rajasthan politics is mainly dominated by two parties which are BJP and Congress but the student union supported by them have not been dominant in Rajasthan University student union elections. Interestingly, most of the politicians who have been and are currently ministers in the government fought as independent candidates during their student life.
Notably among them are the Panchayati Raj Minister Rajendra Rathore, IT Minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Nawalgarh MLA and former Medical Minister Dr. Rajkumar Sharma, Ajmer MP Raghu Sharma, Congress President of Jaipur and former MLA Pratap Singh Khacharyavas, former MP Mahesh Joshi, MLA Hanuman Beniwal, former MLA from Gudha Ranvir Singh and former MLA from Nawa Mahendra Chaudhary.
However, Medical and health minister Kalicharan Saraf and Mayor Ashok Lahoti were ABVP candidates.
The voting percentage has been declining and not been able to cross 60%. Increasing the voting percentage in the elections of Rajasthan University will be a challenge for the administration this year. As per the records, 60% of the students in the university didn’t vote over the past six years. The voting percentage reduced to 58% in 2016 and 52% in 2017. The university is preparing for the elections and focusing on increasing the voting percentage.
DSW Prof. Sareena Kalia said that he went to the Maharani College on Saturday and motivated students to cast votes in the student elections scheduled on August 31.
The voting percentage in the last six years of RU:
49% in 2013, 41% in 2014, 47.13% in 2014, 52.6% in 2015, 58% in 2016 and 51.58% percent in 2017. There were 23662 voters in 2017 out of which 12205 voted.
The list of the candidates fighting for the Rajasthan University student union elections 2018 will be finalized on Monday. Rajasthan University will release the final names of the students contesting the elections at 4 pm on Monday. Student leaders can withdraw their nomination by 3 pm.
In Rajasthan University, 15 candidates have filled the nomination for contesting for the post of President, 9 nominations for Vice President, 11 candidates for General Secretary and 11 for Joint Secretary.
