NSUI ‘choice’ to go Independent

NEW DELHI: Contradicting NSUI’s claims that she would support Rocky Tuseed's candidature as the Congress-affiliated student body’s nominee for president in the Delhi University students’ union election, cancer survivor Alka Sehrawat decided to contest as an

Independent

. Tuseed was reinstated as a candidate by Delhi high court on Friday. A day earlier, Sehrawat had been declared NSUI’s official candidate following Tuseed’s disqualification by the election committee.

Unhappy at being dumped by NSUI, Sehrawat told TOI that it had “played with her emotions”. “They proposed to make me a prominent member of NSUI, though I asked them to let me remain the presidential candidate as I have big dreams for my fellow students,” said the geography student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College.

Sehrawat declared her intention to remain an Independent contestant, but also disclosed that Aam Aadmi Party rebel MLA Devender Sehrawat was extending support “in his personal capacity”. Chhatra Yuwa Sangharsh Samiti, AAP’s student wing, stated, however, that since it had boycotted the polls, it had nothing to do with Sehrawat’s candidacy “despite her being a volunteer of the party two years ago”.

After the HC quashed the disqualification of Tuseed, NSUI took out a triumph march in North Campus on Friday. The Congress-affiliated student organisation requested the poll panel to postpone polling by four days and “constrain” all other candidates from campaigning for two days to enable Tuseed to make up for canvassing time lost since his rejection on Wednesday.

Neeraj Mishra, national media in-charge of NSUI, alleged, “ABVP did not want a democratic contest and wanted to win through intimidation and subversion of democratic values. The judiciary has stood up for justice and DU students will now stand up for democracy.”

Polling will be held on September 12 in the 51 colleges, faculties and departments of the university.