The University of Hyderabad campus turned saffron after a gap of eight years as Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Saturday swept the student union elections by winning all six posts of office-bearers. The students’ wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) fought the polls in an alliance with the Other Backward Classes Federation (OBCF) and the Sevalal Vidyarthi Dal (SVD).
Spearheading the win from the front was the 26-year-old ABVP candidate Aarti Nagpal who has been elected as the president of the University of Hyderabad Students’ Union. It is the second time in the university’s history that a woman has become the president of students union, after 2013. Aarti, a PhD psychology student won by a good margin of 334 votes over her nearest rival, Erram Naveen Kumar of the SFI. Elaborating about her win and why she ventured in the murky world of politics, she says, “I have been into this university for about six years and have seen many things from the front. I always had a voice of my own along with strong opinions. Contesting in student elections gave me the opportunity to explore. Last year I contested for the position of cultural secretary but unfortunately I lost. But this time I was more actively involved with all the activities and also increased the number of women campaigners as well.”
Aarti who got married into a Gujarati family seven months back feels her family was a shield of support. “Even though my opponents used my marital status against me on social media, it was my entire family who gave me support. It is a big deal coming from a married background into politics,” she says, adding, “Studying psychology has actually helped me to deal with this tough time where I was juggling on both fronts and also dealing with malicious online campaigns.”
Interestingly, winning is just the beginning of a very demanding journey, feels Aarti. “University of Hyderabad has been infamous for non-inclusiveness of all minorities, be it women or LGBT. My first step will be to make the university more inclusive. Though ABVP is the student wing of RSS which has a very different take on matters I do feel the ABVP unit in our university has a different mindset. I want to break all barriers,” she shares. Now, Aarti is planning to conduct student darbars — monthly student forums where there will be a transparent discussion on matters of importance on the campus.
