Of 23 candidates in fray for DUSU polls, just 5 are women

The representation of women in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls continues to remain low. This year, of 23 candidates, only five are women. Last year, six of the 24 candidates were women, while in 2016, eight of 17 candidates were women.

The election is scheduled for September 12. For the president’s post, only one woman candidate is contesting — Preeti Chauhan of the Indian National Students Organisation.

Over the years, women candidates who have been elected as president include BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Alka Lamba from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), who is now an AAP MLA.

For the vice-president’s post, three candidates are women: Leena from the NSUI and Anshika Singh from the Left-leaning AISA. Last year, AISA had a woman presidential candidate. For the post of secretary, there are no women candidates, while the ABVP is fielding Jyoti Choudhary for the post of Joint Secretary.

The Chhatra Yuva Sangarsh Samiti, the AAP’s student wing which is in alliance with AISA, has fielded two male candidates — Chandramani Dev (secretary) and Sunny Tanwar (joint secretary). In 2015, when they had contested the election independently, they had two women candidates.
News Source (Indian Express)