DUCSU polls: Chhatra Dal lagging behind, others active

Polls to Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) and hall unions are going to be held on 9 September after six years. Different student organisations are preparing their panels ahead of the elections.

However, compared to other organisations, Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) have so far been relatively lagging behind in terms of election preparedness.

All other organisations, except JCD, are carrying out various activities centering on the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election.

Acknowledging that JCD’s activities for the DUCSU and hall union elections are less than others, the organisation’s Dhaka University unit general secretary, Nahiduzzaman, told Prothom Alo over phone on Thursday night that they had demanded equal opportunities for all in the DUCSU and hall union elections from the university administration.

He said the administration was failing to control the “mob” situation on campus. Many members of the Chhatra League remain on the voter list. Several teachers who opposed the July mass uprising are still serving as provosts and residential teachers in various halls.

Chhatra Dal activists are not getting the opportunity to work at the hall level. This situation needs to be resolved quickly.

Much of the discussion is centered on the new student organisation, Ganatantrik Chhatra Sansad, formed last February by a faction of coordinators from the anti-discrimination student movement that led the July mass uprising.

Abdul Qader has been selected as the candidate for vice president (VP) and Abu Baker Majumdar for general secretary (GS) on their panel. One-third of their panel will be female students.

“We are in the process of forming the panel with everyone involved. We are connected with the students,” Abu Baker told Prothom Alo.

However, the platform will not contest the election under its own name; rather it will contest under a different banner to attract students more.

Before the mass uprising, the Islami Chhatra Shibir did not have open activities on the Dhaka University campus or in the halls. However, after 5 August last year, Shibir announced its committee on the DU campus.

They have since become quite active there through various programmes. The organisation may announce its DUCSU and hall union panel next week. The likely VP candidate from Shibir is the organisation’s central publication secretary, Md Abu Shadiq Kayem, and the probable GS candidate is the Dhaka University unit president, SM Forhad. Shibir, too, will announce its panel under a different name.

Shibir’s possible VP candidate, Shadiq Kayem, told Prothom Alo, “Our panel has not been finalised yet; discussions are ongoing. We may form a coalition with other parties and organisations.”

It has been learned that the Ganatantrik Chhatra Jote (Democratic Student Alliance) will announce a joint panel for this DUCSU election. The alliance includes the Bangladesh Chhatra Union (Tamzid–Shimul faction), Samajtantrik Chhatra Front (Marxist), Biplobi Chhatra Moitree, Ganatantrik Chhatra Council, Pahari Chhatra Parishad (UPDF), Chhatra Federation (Jatiya Mukti Council), and Biplobi Chhatra-Jubo Andolon.

Outside the alliance, the Bangladesh Chhatra Union (Mahir–Bahauddin faction), Samajtantrik Chhatra Front (BASAD), and BCL (Bangladesh Jasad) may also join the panel. In addition, the alliance is trying to include organisations representing ethnic minority students from both the hills and the plains.

The names under discussion for VP and GS in this alliance panel are Meghmallar Basu, president of the Dhaka University unit Chhatra Union, and Jabir Ahmed (Jubel), central general secretary of the Biplobi Chhatra Moitree, respectively. The alliance will also try to announce hall-level panels if possible; if not, their candidates may join independent panels.

Jabir Ahmed told Prothom Alo, “This DUCSU election is important for the struggles ahead. In the coming days, everyone will have to take a democratic stand against far-right politics. We will form a panel for democratic struggle that will include all pro-democracy students and all prominent faces from past movements and struggles.”

There is still no decision on which level of Chhatra Dal leadership will contest the DUCSU elections. However, two names are being discussed as potential VP and GS candidates — Dhaka University unit joint general secretary Abidul Islam Khan and Kabi Jasimuddin Hall unit convener Sheikh Tanvir Bari Hamim. Several Chhatra Dal senior leaders said that a panel might be formed under a different name instead of contesting directly under the Chhatra Dal banner. But nothing has been finalised yet.

Chhatra Dal central general secretary Nasir Uddin told Prothom Alo that they would soon decide on forming a panel for the DUCSU and hall union elections.

Chhatra Dal announced committees for 18 residential halls at the university on August 8, sparking protests on campus on the same night over formation of these committees. The following days saw criticism and debate over the matter on social media platforms. Some students believe that Chhatra Dal is taking more time to start election-focused activities following that backlash.

Apart from party-affiliated panels, there is also talk on campus about an independent panel led by former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Umama Fatema, who was once involved in Chhatra Federation. For that reason, left-leaning organisations had tried to bring her in to their panel, but she did not agree.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Umama Fatema said she is trying to form an independent panel on her own initiative. She said discussions with students about the independent panel were ongoing, and everything would be announced soon.

Meanwhile, several other student organisations — including Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, student wing of Gono Odhikar Parishad, are preparing for the elections. Islami Chhatra Andolon, student wing of Islami Andolon, has already announced its panel.

The distribution of nomination forms for the DUCSU and hall union elections began on 12 August. The price for a nomination form for any position — including VP and GS — has been set at 300 taka.

The last date for purchasing forms is 18 August, and the deadline of nomination form submission is 3:00 pm on 19 August. The final list of candidates will be published at 1:00 pm on 21 August after scrutiny.

According to the final voter list for the DUCSU and hall union elections, there are 39,775 voters in total — 20,871 male students and 18,902 female students.

This correspondent spoke to 22 students in four halls – Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall, Masterda Surja Sen Hall, Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, and Sir AF Rahman Hall – yesterday, Thursday afternoon. These students said election campaigning had not yet fully begun. One of the reasons is that exams are underway in many departments and institutes. Another reason is that candidates for DUCSU and the hall unions have not been finalised. However, potential candidates are holding discussions and seeking support at their personal capacity. Students believe that a full-fledge election atmosphere will arise only after candidates and panels are finalised.

The last DUCSU and hall union elections were held in March 2019, after the previous ones in 1990. On election day in 2019, all panels except the Chhatra League boycotted the polls. Despite demands to hold voting outside the halls, the then university administration did not agree.

This time, however, polling stations will be located outside the halls. Since the Awami League was ousted from power in the July mass uprising, its student wing, Chhatra League, has been banned, meaning it cannot take part in these elections.

In the last election, there were 25 positions in the DUCSU central union — including VP and GS — and 13 in each hall union. This time, three new positions have been added to the central union, but the number of hall union positions remains 13.

In the 2019 DUCSU elections, held after a 28-year gap, Nurul Haque (Nur) was elected VP. He is now president of the Gono Odhikar Parishad. From Nur’s panel, Akhtar Hossain won the position of social service secretary; he is now the member secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP).

In that election, Chhatra League (now banned) won the GS post and 23 other positions in the DUCSU. However, that election was widely considered controversial.