DU’s Rs 1 lakh bond requirement for DUSU polls sparks protests from student organisations

New Delhi: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, on Tuesday staged a protest at Delhi University’s Arts Faculty against the administration’s decision to mandate a Rs 1 lakh electoral bond for candidates contesting the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.

Students from the Ramjas College, the Hindu College, the Kirori Mal College, Miranda House, and other institutions joined the protest, demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision.

Calling the decision “anti-student” and “discriminatory”, the ABVP said the bond would restrict the elections to only affluent candidates, undermining the democratic spirit of student politics.

“While the Lyngdoh Committee caps election expenditure at Rs 5,000, asking students to deposit a bond of Rs 1 lakh is illogical and undemocratic,” said ABVP Delhi state Secretary Sarthak Sharma.

He warned that if the university does not revoke the decision, the agitation will escalate “from the streets to the courts”.

The All India Students Association (AISA), affiliated to Left parties, has already moved the Delhi High Court against the DU’s decision to mandate a Rs 1 lakh bond for candidates contesting elections to the DUSU.

It contended that the bond provision contravenes the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, according to which there should be minimal expenses in such elections.

The Delhi University administration recently issued a notification that requires the candidates to sign the bond as a preventive measure for the 2025-26 DUSU polls, arguing that it would help curb poster defacement during campaigns. The decision was taken due to last year’s controversy regarding the defacement of public properties inside the DU campus.

Last year, the Delhi Court had criticised the university over defacement of the campus during the students’ union elections and stalled the results until defacement material, including posters, hoardings, and graffiti, was removed from public property.

This time, after the DU administration’s decision of a Rs 1 lakh bond, student groups, including the ABVP, the Congress-affiliated NSUI, the CPI-M-affiliated SFI, and others, are up in arms, condemning the move, saying it goes against the basic spirit of democracy and will unfairly benefit wealthy candidates.

IANS