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Maharashtra: Student unions set the ball rolling for elections after 22 years

Mumbai student unions are reaching out to students in institutes like IIT-B, TISS and Mumbai Univ for a robust voter base

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The Maharashtra Public Universities act will come into effect from March 2017
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With elections set to make a comeback after 22 years in the state after the new Maharashtra Public Universities Act comes into effect from March 2017, prominent student unions are trying to establish their support base in prominent Mumbai campuses.

From targeting one lakh members to conducting surveys in colleges, student unions in the city, including the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Students Federation of India (SFI), and the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) have already started preparing their strategies to contest the upcoming student elections across the state. With special emphasis on Mumbai, they are eyeing prominent institutes such as Mumbai University and its affiliated colleges, Tata Institute of Social Sciences(TISS) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay(IIT-B).

ABVP is one of the biggest student unions in the state which currently has 33,000 members from the city, and has chalked out an elaborate strategy.

To begin with, they have started taking up national issues, the most recent being the tussle between Left groups and the ABVP in Delhi's Ramjas College and then in Pune University.

"We are organising sessions with students from various colleges and educational institutes in the city through which we are trying to create awareness about national issues like the one in Delhi. It was a reaction to Left unions spreading anti-national sentiments. Once students are aware of what the reality is, they support us," said Rohit Chandode, ABVP (Mumbai) Secretary.

In the last two months, ABVP has been working on expanding its support base.

"Before elections begin, we want to increase our city membership to one lakh. We are conducting various events and registration drives in college campuses. We have also taken up some important issues for students like the demand for a 24/7 library at the University of Mumbai, complaints about capitation fees at various colleges among other issues, which will help us gain support from students," said Chandode.

On the other side, Left organisations in the city are also attempting to gain the upper hand in most campuses. Rameshwar Shere, Mumbai Secretary, SFI, said that while preparations are on for the upcoming elections, students' choices are going to be more issue- based than ideology-based.

"We have openly spoken about various issues that students are facing. From scholarship issues to problems related to exams and results, we have always approached the concerned authorities to address these grievances from time to time. Being a prominent Left organisation, we have also shown our support to national struggles like the 2016 JNU issue and now the Ramjas College incident," said Shere.

He also added that the organisation is now planning to establish its presence in each and every educational institute to gain maximum support.

"We aim to have at least one WhatsApp group per college/institute through which we can constantly keep in touch with students so that we are not dependent on last minute campaigning before the elections," he added.

Similarly, Students Islamic Organisation — another key organisation — has, in the last two months, raised several issues such as demanding NEET in Urdu, conducting protests under the #Justicefornajeeb campaign etc.

"Now, we are going to focus on Mumbai after working briefly in Delhi and Nanded. For this, we will be conducting a survey across city institutes to try and understand the composition of these institutes, their prominent issues and political inclinations. Once we get the results, we will have an elaborate campaign strategy," said Salman Ahmad President of the Students Islamic Organisation, Mumbai city division.

Election Strategies

ABVP: planning one lakh membership, gate sabhas, workshops for college students
SFI: Whatsapp groups for each college, meetings to address local issues of students
SIO: Student surveys, taking up issues of minorities
Prahar Vidyarthi Sanghatna:Taking up issues with respect to food and accomodation in hostels and fees

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