DUCSU Polls: Heavyweight VP, GS candidates
E M Shourav :
Dhaka University students are excited ahead of the DUCSU polls. After the announcements of the student organizations’ panels, the campaigning has increased to a new level.
The students nominated for the top two positions ‘Vice President’ (VP) and ‘General Secretary’ (GS) of almost every student’s organization are heavyweights. Each one has a unique political and social service identity.
Chhatra Dal Candidates: BNP’s student wing Chhatra Dal nominated Abidul Islam Khan as VP. Abid is now joint secretary of DU Unit Chhatra Dal and a student of the department of Islamic Studies of 2015-16 session.
He is well-known for ‘please, no one leave anyone behind’ call during the July Uprising. Recently he authored a book ‘Sphulingo Theke Dabanal’ where he wrote mainly the history of Chhatra Dal activists’ dedication to the July Uprising.
GS candidate Sheikh Tanvir Bari Hamim is now the convener of the Jasimuddin Hall unit of JCD and a student of Women and Gender Studies from the 2018-19 session.
He is active on campus through “Komol Medi Aid”, a social and cultural platform providing telemedicine services, health camps, sanitary vending machines for female students, and sports tournaments.
Chhatra Shibir Nominees
Islami Chhatra Shibir’s VP nominee Abu Shadik Kayem is now a student of 2016-17 session and of Mphil in political science. He is the organisation’s central publication secretary and previously served as president and general secretary of Shibir’s DU unit.
The GS candidate from Shibir is SM Farhad, current president of its DU unit and a student at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research from the 2017-18 session. He earlier served as the unit’s general secretary.
Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad Nominees
The Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad nominated Abdul Kader, convenor of its DU unit, as its VP candidate. Kader is now a student at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of 2018-19 academic year.
A key coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, he rose to prominence during the July Mass Uprising when he declared the nine-point demands during the curfew. Before the uprising, Kader was involved in the politics of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad and Ganatantrik Chhatra Shakti at Dhaka University.
The GS candidate for this panel is Abu Bakar Majumdar was one of the six coordinators taken into custody by the Detective Branch (DB) during the uprising. Baker is the central convener of the Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad and a student of the Department of Geology. He previously served as the member secretary of the Ganatantrik Chhatra Shakti’s Dhaka University unit.
Chhatra Odhikar Parishad Nominees
Bin Yamin Molla, the central president of the Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, is the VP candidate from the organisation. A former student of the Department of Public Administration, Bin Yamin was a key figure in the quota reform movement.
Left Wings Alliance Nominees
The left-wing student organisations nominated Sheikh Tasnim Afroze Imi from the Department of Sociology for the VP position. In the 2019 DUCSU election, she was elected VP of the Shamsunnahar Hall Sangsad on an independent panel.
For the GS post, the panel’s candidate is Meghmallar Bosu, president of the Dhaka University unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra Union (a faction). He is a student of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies.
Islami Chhatra Andolon Nominees
Islami Chhatra Andolan’s VP candidate is Yasin Arafat, former president of the organisation’s Dhaka University unit. Its GS candidate is Khairul Ahsan Marzan, assistant secretary general of the organisation’s central committee and a student of the Department of International Relations.
Other independent candidates
The Samanwito Shikkharthi Sangsad panel has nominated Jamaluddin Muhammad Khalid, convener of the Swadhin Bangladesh Chhatra Sangsad. He previously served as the president of the Islami Chhatra Andolan’s Dhaka University unit. The same panel’s GS candidate Mahin Sarkar played a significant role in the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement before joining the NCP to enter national politics.