‘Sidelining senior leaders reason for ABVP defeat’

New Delhi: Despite deploying a team of over a dozen senior leaders to assist RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the Delhi University Students’ Union (Dusu) polls, the Delhi BJP failed to contain the winning spree of the ABVP.

Questions were raised within the party overall regarding Dusu poll management and a section said that sidelining senior leaders like South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri and others by inexperienced general secretary Ravinder Gupta was one of the reasons for the defeat.

Questioning the ability of Mr Gupta, a senior party functionary said, “What is the logic behind making someone who has never participated in student politics in his life in-charge of polls. Mr Bidhuri was coordinating the Dusu polls for the last few years and the ABVP had won all the elections. Lack of sincerity and planning by the ‘in-charge’ caused this loss.”

Some leaders also raised questions on the appointment of general secretary (organisation) Siddhar-than. “During the Bawana Assembly bypolls last month, Mr Siddhart-han was seen managing the campaign and the party lost. Similarly, Mr Siddharthan monitoring the Dusu polls raises serious question over ability of the team he trusts,” said a group of leaders.

Lack of coordination and communication with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) was also seen as a major reason behind the defeat. “Our leadership failed to connect with our old ally — SAD — which performed well in several colleges,” said a Delhi BJP leader.

Meanwhile, the NSUI said that the mandate shows that students “throughout the country have rejected the poisonous and divisive ideology of the RSS”.