The English Press Club (EPC) interviewed Aditya Khandelwal, a third-year student pursuing Electrical and Electronics Engineering, who is contesting for the post of General Secretary in the 2025 Students’ Union (SU) Elections. He began by sharing that he had not initially planned to contest the elections, but his tenure as the Hostel Representative of Budh Bhawan made him realise the need to strengthen the SU’s reputation before the administration.

He acknowledged that the position came with recognition, but emphasised that his personal motivation was growth, improving his communication skills, and pushing himself out of his comfort zone by interacting with more people. 

Among his manifesto points, Aditya placed points involving infrastructure at the top of his priorities. He pointed to the steep 58% hike in hostel fees without corresponding improvements, and argued that students paying close to ₹30 lakhs over their degree deserved ‘better than wooden chairs and outdated hostels’. 

In his manifesto, he also pledged to lift WiFi restrictions on OTT platforms like Netflix and other online gaming platforms, arguing that hostels should feel like home, not an ‘extension of classes’. On industry exposure, Aditya talked about leveraging the Work Integrated Learning Program to ensure the benefit of students working on real-life industry projects. He envisioned ‘Aspire BITS’, another proposal as mentioned in his manifesto, as a community for students and alumni to showcase skills and collaborate.

On the implementation of the attendance policy, he proposed pushing for stronger student representation in the Senate, which currently has over 600 professors but very few students. While greater student representation may take time, he suggested measures like taking student-wide polls into account while making decisions in the Senate. 

Aditya stressed the fact that his past work was proof of his commitment. As a hostel representative, he mentioned that he worked on several initiatives like installation of bug zappers, setting up of cricket nets in hostel QTs, relocation of old gym equipment to Meera Bhawan, and contribution to the ‘mega QT development project’. He elaborated that his efforts had led to the betterment of not only Budh Bhawan, but other hostels as well. This, he claimed, demonstrated that he was capable of translating ideas into results. 

In closing, he urged students to participate in elections, stressing that student representation was essential to holding the administration accountable. Calling out uncontested positions in some hostels as a ‘sad reality’, he encouraged peers to step forward. He concluded by urging everyone to vote, no matter who they supported.