DUCSU election: Some ‘upset’, some ‘satisfied’

Shamim Hossain is quite popular among students who learn English on platforms like YouTube or Facebook as part of preparing for jobs.

Using this popularity, he contested as an independent candidate for the post of vice-president (VP) in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election. Many students liked his way of speaking and videos of his recitations.

The English-language instructor, who is well-known on social media, did not win the VP post in the DUCSU elections held last Tuesday (9 September). However, he came third with 3,883 votes.

A postgraduate student of the Department of English at Dhaka University, Shamim told Prothom Alo yesterday, Friday, that smear campaigns had been launched against him before the vote. This, he said, left him mentally upset. However, after the election, he has returned to his studies.

Shamim said, “It seemed to me that the idea of ethics in politics has gone completely missing. Overall, I felt that I should return to my studies and, as soon as possible, leave the country. In future I want to work in educational psychology or a similar field.” 

Shamim was one of 45 candidates who contested for the vice-president (VP) post. For the post of General Secretary (GS), there were 19 candidates.

Another postgraduate student from the Department of Law, Arafat Chowdhury ran as an independent candidate for GS. Over the past few years, he had been involved in running a Facebook-based group named ‘Dhaka University Nirapotta Moncha’, which tried to stand by students in times of difficulty.

This had made Arafat a fairly well-known face among students. Although he did not draw much attention during the DUCSU election campaign, the results showed that he came fourth in the GS race with 4,044 votes.

Speaking to Prothom Alo Friday, Arafat alleged, “The results were engineered one-sidedly. I have identified several irregularities and the manipulation has been carried out from the numerical aspect.”

“Tomorrow (Saturday) I will submit a complaint to the chief returning officer. The number of votes cast, the full list of voters, and CCTV footage from polling centres must be made public,” he added.

The Jamaat-e-Islami-backed panel ‘Oikkoboddo Shikkharthi Jote’ won 23 out of the 28 DUCSU posts. There has been speculation on campus that the two independent candidates who won secretarial positions also had Shibir’s backing.

Those two independent candidates are- Musaddiq Ali Ibne Mohammad (who won the post of literary and cultural Secretary with 7,782 votes) and Zubair Bin Neshari (who won the post of social welfare secretary with 7,608 votes). Both had been active in campus-based activities following the July uprising.

The oldest candidate for VP was Muhammad Abu Taiyab Habilder, a 45-year-old independent. He received only 10 votes. When contacted, he declined to comment.

In the run-up to the election, on 26 August, an allegation surfaced that independent VP candidate Jalal Ahmed assaulted his roommate and attacked him with a broken tube light in Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall.

That very night, the university authorities handed him over to the police. Jalal was granted bail last Thursday, two days after the election. Despite being in jail, he still managed to get 8 votes for the VP post.

During the July uprising, Sanjida Ahmed (Tonni), a student of the department of Clinical Psychology at the Dhaka University was injured in a Chhatra League attack. Her bloodied face became one of the defining images of the uprising.

Sanjida contested the post of research and publication secretary in the DUCSU election. Several panels, including the BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and the Boishamyabirodi Shikkharthi Sangsad, did not field a candidate for this post to support her.

According to the results, she was elected with 11,778 votes, the second-highest in this year’s DUCSU elections. The highest went to Shibir-backed candidate Md Abu Shadiq Kayem, who became VP with 14,042 votes.

Speaking to Prothom Alo Friday, Sanjida said, “I have experience in research work, which is why I consciously chose to run for research and publication secretary.”

“During the campaign, I reached out to the students. Students from all background trusted my pledges, and that is why I was able to win. Some panels also supported me in the election, and I thank them for that,” she added.

Sanjida said her only goal now is to uphold the trust of the students’ votes through her work. She added that she would adopt the feasible and good aspects of her rivals’ manifestos and take guidance from experienced people.

Independent candidate for member post at DUCSU, Umma Uswatun Rafia, had several of her speeches go viral on Facebook. Many praised her eloquence and ideas. She was elected member with 4,209 votes.

A second-year undergraduate student from the Department of English, Ashiqur Rahman became a topic of discussion after sharing a photo of himself on Facebook wearing sunglasses, holding a lighter, and smoking a cigarette while sitting on a plastic chair.

The caption with the photo had a catchy caption about the DUCSU election. This unusual campaign tactic drew attention in a short time. However, Ashiqur Rahman could not draw much support at the ballot box, receiving 526 votes only. In his personal assessment however, this was more than enough.

Speaking to Prothom Alo Friday, Ashiqur said, “Many students asked me questions like ‘You’re a junior, why are you contesting, what are your qualifications?’ and so on, as if I was sitting for a viva.”  

“I had to answer such queries. I went to every hall, managing 20–30 votes from each. Given the effort I put in, the votes I got are fair enough. Still, I had expected to reach at least 1,000 votes,” he added.