BJP eyes political windfall in Haryana by lifting ban on student elections

Is the idea behind the restoration of democratic elections to student bodies in Haryana aimed at getting the ruling party an advantage when Assembly elections are held next year?

That could well be possible as the Manohar Lal Khattar government gave the students of the state a reason to rejoice as the state government on Monday revoked a 22-year-old ban on elections to the student bodies at the universities and colleges in Haryana.

Captain Bhupinder Singh, OSD to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, said that the elections would be held with the commencement of the next academic session, due about four months from now.

This will portray a very student-friendly and democracy-oriented image of the BJP in the state, where it is in power without a coalition crutch for the first time.

A few days ago, the party reached out to youth in the form of a 'Yuva Hunkar Rally', which saw thousands of youth ride into the rally venue in Jind on motorcycles. Leading them, also on bikes, were party president Amit Shah and Chief Minister Khattar.

Ironically, Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma was the education minister when then chief minister Bansi Lal, leading a Haryana Vikas Party-BJP coalition, banned elections on the campuses and colleges.

Between 1996 and now, the number of colleges and campuses has increased substantially. There are a total of 41 university campuses, many of them private, in the state. Among the better-known ones are the Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Kurukshetra University in Kurukshetra, and the Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar, which used to be highly politicised.

The new universities will include the Ashoka University and the O.P. Jindal Global University, both in Sonipat.

The BJP has been in news for allegedly attempting to saffronise JNU in the national capital. How far the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad will be able to capture the students' imagination in Haryana remains to be seen.