DUCSU panel review-5: Shibir emerges from the shadows, contests election

Following the July Uprising, Islami Chhatra Shibir began openly conducting organisational activities in the Dhaka University campus in September last year.

It was revealed that Md. Abu Shadik Kayem had played a significant role in planning and decision-making for various programmes from behind the scenes during the uprising.

It also came to light that he was serving as the president of Chhatra Shibir’s Dhaka University unit. He now holds the position of Publication Secretary in the organisation’s central committee.

Over the past year, Shadik Kayem has become a well-recognised figure among students. Now Chhatra Shibir is seeking to capitalise on this profile to consolidate its standing in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections.

The Shibir-backed panel is running under the banner ‘Oikkoboddho Shikkharti Jote’ (United Students’ Alliance), with Kayem standing as candidate for Vice-President (VP). The organisation’s campaign is being centred squarely around him.

Prothom Alo talked to five candidates from Islami Chhatra Shibir’s panel. They said that Kayem’s role during the July Uprising was widely discussed even beyond the organisation’s own ranks. This has broadened his recognition.

The candidates from the Chhatra Shibir panel also emphasised his strong interpersonal skills and noted that in the past year he has faced a very few allegations of misconduct or irregularities. For this reason, he is being placed at the forefront of the campaign.

Alongside online publicity, Shibir’s candidates are campaigning in person at residential halls and academic departments and institutes.

A Facebook page has been launched under the banner of Oikyoboddho Shikkharti Jote, where videos and photographs of campaign activities are regularly posted. These posts prominently feature Kayem’s image, although the panel’s nominees for various secretary posts are also being highlighted.

The candidates from the panel have intensified communications with the non-residential students and members of minority communities.

Chhatra Shibir candidates claim that, over the past year, their organisation has undertaken numerous welfare initiatives on campus, building up what they describe as a “vote bank”.

They also anticipate substantial support from students with madrasah backgrounds and from those who entered the university via preparatory “coaching” centres. This, they believe, places them at a relative advantage over rival panels.

Candidates from rival panels have also been discussing how many votes the Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panel would get in the upcoming DUCSU election.

Prothom Alo spoke with 12 candidates across different panels, some of whom said that fears are circulating that, should Chhatra Shibir win DUCSU posts, new restrictions might be imposed on women’s freedom of movement on campus.

Chhatra Shibir’s election manifesto outlines at least seven commitments directed specifically towards women students. These include: ensuring safe transportation; easing restrictions on hall access for female students; introducing maternity leave provisions; providing free access to menstrual hygiene products in academic buildings; arranging self-defence training; implementing a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and cyberbullying; and appointing female staff in common rooms, alongside setting up of breastfeeding and childcare facilities.

Women account for nearly 48 per cent of the DUCSU electorate — 18,959 out of a total 39,874 registered voters.

On the issue of hall unions, speculation abounds that Shibir has adopted a tactical approach. Instead of fielding full panels, it is discreetly supporting favoured candidates in different halls, aiming to secure influence through selective backing.

At Jagannath Hall, however, observers expect Shibir to fare poorly. The hall’s 2,222 voters—all from minority communities—make up about 6 per cent of the total electorate.

Shibir’s manifesto offers very few commitments for minorities, except a general pledge to improve the infrastructure of the university’s mosques, temples and other places of worship.

Votes of female students and those of Jagannath Hall residents are both seen as critical factors in this election. On these fronts, many rival candidates consider Chhatra Shibir to be at a disadvantage.

The Shibir leaders, however, argue that their panel is inclusive, pointing out that it features four female students and one candidate from the Chakma community.

SM Forhad, Shibir’s General Secretary (GS) candidate and current president of the organisation’s Dhaka University unit, told Prothom Alo, “The strength of our panel lies in inclusivity. Muslim and non-Muslim, Bengali and non-Bengali, hijabi and non-hijabi, those supportive of Shibir and those critical of it—everyone is represented in our line-up.”

Throughout the campaign, Shibir’s panel has complained of bias on the part of the university administration towards a rival student organisation.

Its candidates have also alleged that they are being subjected to systematic “smear campaigns”. Female candidates in particular, they say, are being targeted by cyberbullying.

Md. Mohiuddin Khan, Shibir’s candidate for Assistant General Secretary (AGS), said, “The challenge is that a level playing field is not being ensured. The electoral code of conduct is being violated without consequence. An artificial sense of animosity and hostility is being created against us, and the administration is failing to act.”