Student council elections unlikely to be held this year
The students now want these elections to be held at the beginning of the academic year in June-July 2020.
The current political situation in the state has adversely affected the student council elections which were to be held in the state, allege student groups and organisations. They have voiced their concern stating that their efforts have gone to waste, as it seems like the students elections will not take place this year.
The Maharashtra government had scheduled the student council elections for September – October this year, however, as the state assembly elections were held during the same period and there has been delay in forming the government, the student elections were postponed. The students now want these elections to be held at the beginning of the academic year in June-July 2020.
Student elections were stopped in 1989 after a first year law student was murdered. The elections were reinstated this year and no political party or affiliated groups were allowed to field their candidates in these polls.
Kuldeep Ambekar, president, Students Helping Hand, said, “Student elections are crucial as it affects state politics. It is unlikely that the student elections will be conducted this year now. In all this chaos, students who were looking forward to the elections and were preparing for it, need to take a step back. The student elections should now be conducted in June or July.”
Satish Gore, youth Congress state secretary said, “There are no signs of student elections happening this year. If there was a student representative in the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) senate, then, the hostel fee hike wouldn’t have happened and we would have fought legally for our rights. Our demand is that whichever government comes to power now, they should start working on the student elections and it should take place in August 2020.”