'A' mania in DUSU polls challenged for first time

NEW DELHI: All Indian Students' Association has challenged the custom of Delhi University Students' Union election contestants changing their name to include 'A' once or several times as its initial letters. Candidates do this in a bid to top the ballot list to garner maximum attention from their electors. They typically change their name via a court affidavit just before the election.

The student body has filed a writ petition in Delhi high court along with two persons Charul Negi, who'd contested in 2013, and lost to Karishma Thakur' and Aman Nawaz, who intends to run in the upcoming election. It seeks an "order or direction to respondents to ensure that the distribution of the ballot numbers? is based not on an alphabetical order of names, but on a draw of lots/lottery conducted in a free and fair manner".

The group's petition also makes clear that it wouldn't want the election, which is slated for September 12, to be stayed. The case will be heard on Tuesday.

The mania for the first letter of the English alphabet, as far as candidate names are concerned, has become a regular feature of every DU student election though some said it's not clear if it influences voting pattern. DUSU election officials have, meanwhile, said that the practice cannot be banned as it's not illegal. This tactic has so far been adopted mainly by National Students' Union of India and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad candidates.

Arguing that it's no more than a "poll gimmick", AISA has said that "elections should be fought on real issues" and that this "unfair practice" should be disallowed. However, other student groups have said that, while they, too, do not endorse this custom, their candidates are free to "exercise personal choice".

"If candidates adopt such means, they should also come out openly with the rationale behind it," said Sunny Kumar of AISA. "This has been the trend. As an organization, we don't have control over names," Saket Bahuguna, Delhi state secretary, ABVP, said. "It's all up to the candidate," said NSUI's Amrish Ranjan Pandey.

There is no clear indication, though, that such tactics change the voting pattern. In fact when Ragini Nayak of NSUI won the post of president, her name was in 15th position. In last year's elections, none of the ABVP candidates (three of four won) were on top of the list. Pandey said, "I'm not sure if there are benefits. But this has been an old tradition." "Students vote for only those who've been working on the ground," Bahuguna said.

According to D S Rawat, chief election officer, "There is nothing legally wrong with the practice, as they change their names via a court affidavit. Hence we can't put a stop to it though our advice is not to indulge in these things."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=DUSU,Delhi University Students Union,Aisa

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