One week on, and all thoughts of DU election have become inconsequential. Forgotten are the marches, the speeches, the daily introductions in between classes, and the rush in the corridors. And even though we love our student leaders, and wish to help them fulfil their promises, we’d still prefer the quietude over the charged atmosphere we get to see during election time.
So here’s why we won’t miss the election fever:
- No gandagi
With no leaflets, pamphlets, cards being printed to be distributed amongst students and teachers, campus area looks cleaner, and one can happily see the grey road – instead of someone’s name and or that of some political party’s stamped on footpaths and main roads. The kachda which gets accumulated during the campaigning phase, faces the wrath of broomsticks and dustbins – much to the delight of apolitical people like me.
- No election speeches
Some may see election speeches in between classes a happy escape from class schedules but when assignment questions materialise from that section of the text which has, according to you, not yet been covered in class, you start to question your easy-going attitude to class notes and early morning lectures.
- No crowd at college gates
No one lets you enter your college premises until you smile and agree to vote for their respective parties, right at the gates of your beloved college, when it’s election time. Over-enthusiastic campaigners form a human chain, shriek out their ballot numbers, and make you feel like a celebrity-in-the-making. Sigh.
- No Audis blocking the roads
ABVP knows how to show their monetary strength. If you get stuck in the middle of the road during election time, you’ll know without peeping around that the campaigners have lined up their handsome cars for everyone to admire. They fail to understand that covering the entire length of the car with posters and banners of their respective parties won’t really help them in their cause. At least, attempts like these do not appeal to the saner section of the voter community.
- No messages/calls
The mid-day calls from unknown numbers, which interrupt your afternoon siesta or your poop timings, vanish as quickly as they appear.
- No handshakes with random strangers
Yes. No need for shaking over-sized sweaty palms any more. No need to wish them all the best for the elections. No need to give way to large groups of people in narrow corridors and through half-open gates.
Having said that, it goes without saying that perks of being a Delhi University student includes getting the opportunity to witness the political fervour at its best. The competition madness reaches its height on the last few days of the campaigning process, and truly, it’s a sight to behold.
