ABVP terms Rs 1 lakh bond for DUSU elections ‘anti-student’, holds protest

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Tuesday protested the requirement of a bond of Rs 1 lakh for contesting the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.

Students from Ramjas College, Hindu College, Kirori Mal College, Miranda House and several other colleges joined the protest at Delhi University’s Faculty of Arts, demanding immediate withdrawal of the bond policy.

The university, in a notification issued on August 8, directed that contestants of DUSU polls must submit the bond as a preventive measure against property defacement during campaigning.

DUSU elections for 2025-26 are scheduled for September 18, and the counting of votes will be held the next day.

The ABVP, the student wing of the RSS, said the move was “anti-student” and would restrict elections to only economically privileged students, an official statement of student body said.

“DUSU elections are the first step of students in the democratic process. Imposing a Rs 1 lakh bond will prevent common students from contesting. Everyone should get equal opportunity in this festival of democracy,” the organisation said.

ABVP Delhi state minister Sarthak Sharma said, “ABVP demands that the university administration withdraw this decision at the earliest, otherwise the movement will intensify from the streets to the courts. While the Lyngdoh Committee has capped election expenditure at Rs 5,000, asking for a bond of Rs 1 lakh is completely illogical.”

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The left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Monday said it has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the Delhi University’s decision to make it mandatory for candidates contesting the DUSU elections to deposit a bond of Rs 1 lakh along with their nomination papers.

According to the CPI(ML)-affiliated student body, the petition is listed for a hearing on Tuesday.