Student politics sees a change for better at MSU

Student politics sees a change for better at MSU
SACHIN SHARMA

VADODARA, SEPT 13: The student leadership at M.S. University (MSU) here has seen a sea change in the Past couple of years. It is after several years that students contesting union elections for the posts of general-secretary and vice-president can be termed genuine students.

Many of the contestants in the past elections were those who took easy courses to be on the campus and concentrated on politics alone. These candidates generally took their studies frivolously. Even if they failed in the examinations, they continued to stay on in the campus by some means or the other only to be able to contest elections.

The academic record of all fore-runners for the apex posts at the university this year is clean. Bharat Dangar, contesting for the post of general secretary, is a student of Master of Engineering (Microprocessing) and possesses an excellent academic record. Parth Joshi and Mehul Lakhani, who are in the fray for the post of vice-president, are M.Com students, while Brijesh Patel, who is contesting for the post of general secretary, is an M.Sc (Statistics) student.

These leaders, unlike their predecessors, have not been compelled to change faculties for contesting elections. Moreover, in contrast to the old-timers of campus politics, they plan to leave the campus once their education is complete. Their educational background has even come in handy in the election agenda.

Independent candidate Lakhani is severely critical of former general secretary and vice-president Prakash Varma and others. ``They do not want to leave the campus even after being here for years and changing several faculties. Such professional leadership must come to an end,'' he said. The salvo fired by Lakhani had its effect, and Varma had to defend himself in speeches by producing a birth certificate.

Similarly, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's Dangar has been claiming support from students on the basis of his excellent track record in education. ``I had a distinction in the Bachelor of Engineering course and have been admitted to the masters degree in Microprocessing. There are only ten seats in this branch and only this university conducts this course. Students should vote for students and not persons who are on the campus only for politics,'' he said.

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) is also cashing in on the ``good student'' image for its lesser known general secretary candidate Patel. ``He is like any other student and has a very decent personality. This is in sheer contrast with other candidates,'' said NSUI state general secretary Yatin Raval.

The change has been welcomed by the university authorities also. ``They are definitely more mature and understand issues. Barring a few exceptions, their way of representing things has been better. Only a couple of leaders have been rude with the authorities,'' said M.S. University Pro-Vice Chancellor and patron of the students' union V.D. Pathak.

However, other teachers point out that the change has been due to the rule that a student failing in his last exam cannot contest the polls. ``The end result being that we have managed to keep notorious elements on the campus at bay,'' said a senior teacher.