New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The Students' Federation of India on Wednesday secured majority in the Ambedkar University Delhi Students' Council (AUDSC) elections, winning 24 out of 45 seats.
Held after a six-year gap, the elections saw enthusiastic participation by students across campuses, with the Students' Federation of India (SFI) making significant gains on the Karampura campus besides making debut on the Lodhi Road and Qutub Institutional Area campuses, a statement issued by the SFI said.
The final seat tally on the Kashmere Gate campus saw the SFI winning 16 seats, AISA 4, ABVP 2, and Independents 6.
On Karampura campus, the SFI won 5 seats, AISA 2, ABVP 1, and Independents 4.
The Lodhi Road campus saw the SFI secure 1 seat, with Independents winning the other 2, while the ABVP and AISA failed to open their accounts.
On the Qutub Institutional Area campus, the SFI won both seats, while the ABVP and AISA drew a blank.
The SFI has thus emerged as the leading force in the AUDSC and will play a key role in electing the five-member central coordination committee (CCC), the highest decision-making body of the council.
"In 2018 and 2019, the SFI won the majority and led the CCC. This time, despite the administration's attempts to delay the elections, we ensured that student democracy was restored," Shefali, SFI secretary at Kashmere Gate, said.
The left-wing student organisation also claimed that the results reflected the rejection of right-wing student politics.
Anan, SFI convenor at Karampura Gate, alleged that the ABVP attempted to influence the students through faculty appointments in new departments, but failed to gain any traction.
"The students overwhelmingly rejected ABVP's communal and divisive politics," he said.
Meanwhile, the All India Students' Association (AISA) also secured representation in the student council, but raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the election process.
AISA in a statement accused the administration of introducing last-minute rule changes, mass cancellation of candidatures, and lack of transparency.
It specifically pointed out the scrapping of the MPhil constituency and procedural lapses in the formation of the election committee.
According to AUD's election rules, programme representatives are directly elected in each academic programme. These representatives form the electoral college, which elects the office-bearers of the student council.
The elected councillors will soon convene on the Kashmere Gate and Karampura campuses to elect their respective central student councils.
At Kashmere Gate, the central council will consist of five members -- two from BA programmes, two from MA programmes, and one from PhD curricula.
As the election process moves into its next phase, SFI is poised to influence the composition of the CCC.