The Central University of Gujarat saw its first student council election in 2009, 10 years after its establishment. The RSS affiliated ABVP swept the polls in September 2019, winning all three student council seats.
However, the latest elections held in the university, a week ago, saw something different. The ABVP lost all five seats, while the SFI-BAPSA-LDSF alliance won all the three seats, NSUI won one and an independent candidate won the remaining seat. This is the first win for the SFI, which constituted its unit in the university only in July 2019. Its candidate was the 21-year-old Chittaranjan Kumar, who is a III year BA German student.
"The university's students have supported the ABVP for a long time. However, as time passed, its members harassed and manipulated the students," alleges Chittaranjan. "The students finally realised that and voted for us. Also, a lot of them were not in accord with their stand on the current political scenario in the country," he says.
Hailing from a village that is 56 kilometres away from Bihar's Gaya, Chittaranjan tells us that he dreams of being an IAS officer someday. However, he has no time to spare, preparing for the examinations. "I come from an extremely poor family. My father was a truck driver and he stopped going to work 10 years ago, owing to illness. We struggled a lot during those days. Many times, my siblings and I were suspended from school for not paying fees," he says. "My mother has sold her goats and pledged her nosering to pay our fees. My brother is an EFLU graduate, who got into JNU for his post-grad studies. However, he had to quit his studies to take up a job and support our family. I hope that I too land a job soon so that I can contribute to paying our bills and help my brother restart his studies," he says.
In fact, Chittanjan's personal struggles were what forced him to join the SFI, he says. "The organisation is all about student struggles. The members always help out each other," he says. "Also, you need an alternate voice, at a time when the government is actively dividing people in the name of religion. It never did anything for the common man," he says.
The university's central panel posts will be decided in a few days. But Chittaranjan already knows what he must do for his fellow students. "We'll equip the library with enough books. We will also make sure that the students get good and affordable food," he says.
