Strict rules: Polls at university a subdued affair this year

The elections at University of Rajasthan, the largest university of the state in terms of enrolment, used to be a high voltage affair until last year with huge rallies, beefy SUVs roaming on the campus, and the campus walls clad with posters.

This year, the students’ election is a much sober, much quieter episode. The reason seems to stricter enforcement of election rules.

Nearly a hundred policemen are camping at the main university entrance, some dozen involved in checking the identity cards of every entrant.

Some university professors are also at the gate, over-enthusiastically assisting the policemen, enjoying the temporary authority bestowed by the company of policemen.

Cars keep entering the campus - cars with orange university passes stuck on them, official university cars with towel seat covers, cars of students bearing their surnames/castes on the windscreens. Other policemen and police women sit near the gate, some with handkerchiefs layered over their collar, some fiddling with their phones.

Below an overcast sky on Wednesday, the university campus bears a sparse look. The students are seen in groups of two or three as rallies have been banned by the university administration. Pawan Yadav, a former member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad who rebelled after not being given the ticket has gathered at the statue of Vivekananda with his few dozen supporters, beard and mustache a common feature among them. Yadav is contesting for the post of president as an independent.

“Keh do un gaddaro se, jeetenge hazaaron se (Go and tell those traitors, we’ll win by thousands of votes),” the supporters shout, probably taking a dig at the candidate who has been given ticket by the ABVP, who Yadav’s supporters allege had betrayed the party in last elections. No sooner have they started raising slogans the police tears into the gathering and disperses the crowd.

At another place, sitting around an oval table in the meeting room of sociology department is Deepak Meena, the presidential candidate from National Students’ Union of India. He is filing his nomination form flanked by advisors and supporters.

After he’s through with the process and is leaving, one of the supporters enters the room, telling him to wait as a garland was on the way. Once it arrives, the students pose with the form being presented to the teacher scrutinising the forms. A dozen hands touch the form as the phone cameras click away images. Meena’s supporters too go around the campus shouting slogans, only to be dispersed at the gate by police.

Apart from the main entrance, a couple of policemen are stationed at each department. The deputy commissioner of police, east, Kunwar Rastradeep, takes a round of the campus accompanied by security personnel.

Not all students are happy with the heavy handedness of the university administration. Dron Yadav, a student of LLM , said the election was an exercise of democracy and instead of promoting it, the university is crushing it to make it a very lacklustre one.