In a fresh turn of events, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has fielded its very first Muslim woman candidate for the post of president at the upcoming University of Hyderabad (UoH) student union elections. Shaikh Aayesha is a Chemistry PhD student, originally from Visakhapatnam. She will contest against Mohammed Ateeq Ahmed, another PhD student who is fighting the student election for SFI-ASA-TSF alliance.
The ABVP panel includes three female candidates out of a total of nine students and is scheduled to contest the polls in alliance with Seva Lal Vidyarthi Dal (SLVD), which is an organisation dedicated to the welfare of the tribal community at the university.
Other Candidates
For the vice president post, Tarun Kumar, a research scholar from the School of Physics, is running the poll. Rajesh Palia, a research scholar from the School of Economics, will fight for the position of general secretary. Rathod Vasanth Kumar, an Integrated MA student of Political Science, will vie for the position of joint secretary as a representative of SLVD. Antony Basumatary, a research scholar from the Department of Philosophy, is running for the post of Cultural Secretary. Jwala Prasad, an Integrated MA student of Hindi, is in the race for the sports secretary position.
G Vinshika from IMA Sociology will contest for the ICC-GSCASH (Integrated) role. Aruna from M Optometry will run for the ICC-GSCASH (PG) position. Pawana from PhD Hindi will contend for the ICC-GSCASH (Research) role.
"The ABVP Panel for the University of Hyderabad Union Elections 2023 is all set to restore the dignity of students at the University of Hyderabad. The student community of the University of Hyderabad requires a student-centric Right to Union, for which the ABVP-SLVD is the only credible option, ensuring an accountable, responsive, and transparent UoHSU," the ABVP said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
ABVP Reaction
"ABVP is always at the forefront of making historical decisions in its 75 years of journey, and it's repeated in HCU. The presidential candidate of ABVP is Shaik Aayesha, the first Muslim woman to contest for the post of President in the history of the University of Hyderabad. All other panels, such as SFI-ASA-TSF, NSUI, and ASD (AIOBCSA, AISA, BSF, DSU, Fraternity), have failed to provide representation to the North-East students. However, ABVP has shown its inclusivity by making Antony Basumatary, a student from the Bodoland Territorial Region, contest for the post of cultural secretary," it said in an official release.
