Breaking into national politics is now harder, say former DUSU presidents

The Indian Express tracked DUSU presidents successful the past decennary to spot wherever they are now.

Aman Awana, who led DUSU successful 2013-14 arsenic a typical of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), discontinue authorities successful 2019 aft a decade, ending a agelong relation with the ABVP and the BJP’s younker wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

“Leaving authorities was a idiosyncratic decision. I wanted to walk much clip with my family,” helium said. He present runs a backstage concern successful Delhi, acold removed from his governmental past.

He pointed to the accrued contention wrong the BJP since Narendra Modi’s emergence to powerfulness successful 2014 arsenic a origin contributing to the dilatory modulation of ABVP leaders to nationalist politics. “In the past 20 years, not a azygous elected DUSU subordinate has made it large successful nationalist politics. Not a azygous subordinate has go an MLA,” Awana noted.

Six years aft helium won the president station astatine DUSU successful the 1970s, Jaitley joined the BJP. Maken was elected arsenic a subordinate of the Delhi Assembly aft helium won the DUSU president station successful 1985. In Sharma’s case, it took her 7 years aft she won the DUSU predetermination to contention successful the Delhi Assembly elections successful 2015 against erstwhile Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Aman highlighted however outsiders and young BJP workers alike present vie for the aforesaid positions, making the roadworthy to nationalist prominence overmuch longer and much difficult.

Mohit Nagar won the DUSU presidency successful 2014-15 and aboriginal joined the ABVP full-time portion pursuing a Master’s grade successful instrumentality astatine Delhi University.

Although helium continued his governmental journey, Nagar, present 32, acknowledges that rising from pupil to nationalist authorities has go importantly much challenging. Currently serving arsenic the Delhi State Secretary of the BJP’s younker wing, Nagar holds a cardinal station arsenic the in-charge for Northeast Delhi, organising campaigns specified arsenic humor donations and nutrient drives to prosecute with young voters.

Satender Awana, who served arsenic DUSU president successful 2015-16, agrees that contention has intensified wrong pupil politics, affecting the trajectory of young leaders.

After his word ended, helium joined the ABVP’s National Executive Council. In 2021, helium transitioned to the BJP Yuva Morcha, yet becoming the Uttar Pradesh Vice-President.

“The BJP arsenic a enactment started overmuch aboriginal than the ABVP successful the 1980s, hence, pupil leaders who had endowment had an introduction into the BJP straight from the ABVP. But successful the past decade, determination has been nary specified vacuum,” helium explained.

Amit Tanwar, DUSU president successful 2016-17, further emphasised that pupil politicians successful the ABVP indispensable commencement from scratch if they privation to articulation the BJP. “Both are not intimately associated with each other. It is lone the ideology that matches. Even if 1 wins the predetermination from the ABVP successful DUSU and becomes a president, if that aforesaid idiosyncratic wants to articulation the BJP, helium oregon she volition person to commencement from zero,” Tanwar stated.

After his DUSU presidency, Tanwar became a “Vistarak Karyakarta” successful the ABVP, wherever helium worked to hole for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now, Tanwar serves arsenic the territory vice-president of Mehrauli successful Delhi, alongside his world relation arsenic an Assistant Professor astatine Delhi University’s Motilal Nehru College.

The lone objection to this inclination has been Rocky Tuseed, who won the DUSU presidency successful 2017 arsenic a campaigner from the Congress-backed National Students Union of India (NSUI).

In 2020, Tuseed was fixed a summons to contention the Delhi Assembly predetermination successful the Rajinder Nagar constituency, though helium finished 3rd down the Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha. Despite his loss, Tuseed remains 1 of the fewer caller DUSU leaders to person contested a large election.

Tuseed, present serving arsenic National Secretary of the Congress’s younker wing, attributes his governmental emergence to the party’s accent connected younker leadership.

Shakti Singh, who assumed the DUSU presidency successful 2018 aft Ankiv Baisoya’s resignation owed to a fake grade controversy, echoed the thought that idiosyncratic thrust plays a cardinal relation successful determining governmental success.

Singh, present the BJP’s in-charge for West Bengal, besides served arsenic a delegate for the G20 and Youth 20 summits successful 2023 and 2024. Like others, Singh noted that figures similar Nupur Sharma, who yet roseate to nationalist prominence, spent years gathering their careers aft leaving DUSU.

“It is simply a time-consuming process, past and present too,” helium said.

Akshit Dahiya, who took bureau arsenic the DUSU president successful 2019, was the longest-serving president arsenic the elections did not instrumentality spot owed to the pandemic-induced lockdown for 3 years aft 2020.

Dahiya believes that it was the Emergency successful 1975 that gave commencement to galore pupil leaders, who led the question and gained popularity.

“The pupil leaders who fought against the exigency and led the question similar Arun Jaitley, became precise palmy successful nationalist politics. These were bonzer circumstances… hence, galore leaders emerged, but the concern is antithetic now.”

Dahiya, 25, is presently the Youth State Vice-President of the BJP successful Haryana.