Rajasthan student unions raise concerns over election schedule

Jaipur: Some student unions have criticized the Rajasthan government’s decision to conduct student union elections in the last week of August. They say that the admission process has not finished and even the students are still waiting for the results of many syllabuses.

The BJP-backed ABVP accused the government of trying to make political gains by conducting the elections in haste and indirectly benefiting the ruling party-supported NSUI.

“The majority of students are yet to apply for admission. The results have also not been announced. How are these students supposed to participate in the election process? They can’t even vote without an ID card. And what kind of an election is it if the voters are not able to cast their ballot,” said Hushyar Singh Meena, national sectary of ABVP.

He added, “Are the government’s move to conduct the election in haste aimed at giving an unfair advantage to a certain student union? If this is the case, why not the government announce the presidents of student unions in all universities without elections?”

The election process will start with the publication of the voters’ list on August 18 and the voting will take place on August 26.

The admissions to both UG first-year and PG first-year courses have not been finalized. The entrance tests are scheduled till August 10 and the results will be announced by August 17. In such a case, it is not possible for the universities to finish the admission process before the end of August.

NSUI also raised concerns about the election schedule. Ramesh Bhati, NSUI spokesperson, said that the publication of voters list would not be possible because the students wouldn’t have their ID cards by August 18.