The Information Seminar for the candidates contesting the Students’ Union (SU) Elections 2023–2024 was held on September 3 in the J. C. Chaudhry NAB Auditorium. The session began with Professors Rajesh P Mishra and Navin Singh, respectively Chief Warden and Associate Dean, SWD, addressing the audience. This was followed by a brief rundown of the election process and timeline by the Election Commision (EC). The session involved candidates explaining their manifesto points followed by cross-questioning from the other candidates and then the General Body Members (GBM), under the supervision of the EC.
Presidential Candidates
The four candidates nominated for the post of the SU President — Munish Jain, Priyanshu Pareek, Sahaj Dwivedi, and Sarthak Agarwal — introduced themselves to the GBM and presented their election manifestos.
Munish Jain was the first to deliver his speech. He said that his journey began in SR Bhawan, where he noticed the detrimental conditions of the mess and his fellow batchmates facing issues. He thus stood for the Mess Representative elections that year, eventually securing the post. The following year, he served as the Secretary of the SSMS. He proceeded to list a few initiatives he was involved in, including opening the Cloud Cafe and the Night Canteen during exam periods. Some manifesto points he outlined included improving the SU App by extending its availability to services like the Institute Canteen, Medical Centre, and Akshay. He proposed the replacement of the petrol and diesel autos on campus with electric vehicles, and make the Pollution Under Control (PUC) Certificate compulsory for all vehicles running on campus. He also proposed organising skill-building opportunities with verified certification at subsidised costs, a reimbursement portal to act as a transparency gateway between the GBM and the organising committees, and improvements in hostel facilities through a new housekeeping service which would provide subscription at fixed rates.
Priyanshu Pareek was the next to take the stage. Beginning with an introduction, he spoke about his experiences at BITS, first being a student at Birla School, Pilani. Noticing the ‘stagnant and unmotivated campus’ upon his arrival as a student at BITS, he resolved to improve its condition. He concluded through conversations with seniors that the solution to this was the SU, and started his journey therein. He then went on to highlight the points in his manifesto. Some of these were the organisation of a mentorship committee, introducing new software to efficiently record lectures, and keeping BITSians informed about foreign cultures through workshops and seminars. He also mentioned setting up a fitness-centric vending machine in the Student Activities Centre (SAC), and lifting Wi-Fi restrictions on gaming sites, citing the growing gaming culture on campus.
The third candidate, Sahaj Dwivedi, began his speech stressing on positive change and a vibrant campus environment. He looked forward to “a future where the Union becomes a platform that not only addresses students’ concerns, but actively seeks out innovative solutions to the challenges we face”. Some manifesto points he chose to stress on included the creation of a SU Amazon account to order and manage fest inventories effectively, and preventing fake signings for merchandise and events. He proposed collaboration with the StuCCA, CoStAA, and CRC to increase transparency in fest and non-fest signings. He proposed the creation of a sponsorship team for funding clubs which do not have sponsors already. Some other initiatives he spoke about were the revival of the SU Transport System, and digitising existing services like the Laundromat.
The fourth and final candidate to speak was Sarthak Agarwal. He said that his working with the Executive Committee of the SU had given him an understanding of the Union’s inner workings, and that motivated him to stand for the role of the President. He went over his manifesto points next. He said that to ensure academic development, he planned to introduce a Centre for Technical Education as a platform where senior students, under faculty supervision, can offer specialised courses to students beyond the standard curriculum. He also said that he would bring in various brand outlets to a new food court to provide more food options to the students. He also proposed offering centralised access to BITS Merchandise at BITStores and introduction of electric bike/scooter services on campus. A few of his other proposals included the setting up of a Food Monitoring Committee to uphold food quality standards across all outlets on campus, and establishing e-bikes on campus.
Sarthak’s speech was followed by a cross-questioning session amongst the four candidates. Questions asked pertained to various manifesto points, and the feasibility of their implementation. Sahaj justified the creation of a SU Amazon account due to potential existing issues with reimbursements, emphasising its anti-corruption nature. He further claimed that the President’s responsibility is not limited to major initiatives. Regarding the division of powers between various representatives, Sahaj mentioned although he had no particular intention of undertaking the duties of other representatives, he emphasised a President’s right to contribute to those areas jointly. Munish explained how the electric vehicle service would be started on campus, involving the SU providing the auto drivers with electric vehicles on loan. Sarthak highlighted that committee recruitments should be made formal to encourage transparency. Sahaj mentioned that due to the absence of Ola and Uber services on campus, the SU app would act as a medium to standardise the rates charged by auto drivers. Munish added that he would call in new housekeeping staff who would charge for additional services, using the SWD account to add dues. On being informed that a policy forbade workers to enter students’ rooms, Munish replied that he would then change it.
General Secretary Candidates
Following the cross-questioning session for the Presidential candidates, the General Secretary candidates approached the stage. There were three students contesting for the post — Abhinav Lamba, Sanskar Agrawal, and Ashish Kumar Cheruku.
Ashish Kumar Cheruku presented his manifesto first. He spoke about his initial dispassionate feelings towards BITS, saying that he missed the motivation he usually felt after viewing influential roles in movies. He apprised the GBM of his current vigour to stand for the post of General Secretary to the likes of other influential positions he had observed in movies. He then elaborated on his manifesto points. He spoke about his smart learning initiative to promote and streamline the process of freelancing. He informed the GBM of his initiative of creating free profiles with CodeDamn for organised skill development followed by internships. He declared that BITS politicians should not confine their responsibilities to academic Google Drives. He also expressed his interest in sports initiatives. He further expressed strong feelings about taking valid action to curb substance abuse through a strict penalty system. His speech was abruptly cut short due to exhaustion of the time limit.
The second candidate, Abhinav Lamba, introduced himself to the GBM. He reflected on his election to the post of the Mess Representative of the Ram-Budh Mess, crediting his effort and the GBM support he received. He went on to emphasise the significance of his previous initiatives. The first was the Academic Drive assembled by him, which he claimed was utilised by a majority of the 2022 batch. He also spoke about his initiative of inaugurating the night canteen in the Ram-Budh Mess, in collaboration with Munish Jain and Chirag Kakkar. He then presented his manifesto to the GBM. He spoke of improving existing infrastructure by installing an AC system in the SAC gym, constructing a shed above ANC, and installing a healthy food eatery in the vicinity of Gym-G, among others. He then proceeded to his academically focused points, including spreading awareness regarding Quant as a high-paying career. He proposed a few initiatives pertaining to the SU app, such as bill splits for proper distribution of expenses and a car-pool feature. He also focused on soft skill development workshops targeting the general public. He ended with his point of digitising inventory in collaboration with the CoStAA and StuCAA to improve transparency.
Lastly, Sanskar Agrawal delivered his speech. Stating that he observed various issues in his first year that he wished to resolve for the GBM, he felt compelled to take valid action to serve the student community. According to him, these were primarily through standardising auto rates, providing affordable services, and maintaining transparency in the student administration. He spoke about his work in the Executive Committee of the Student Union, and how the experience provided him with an understanding of the SU’s workings. He went on to inform the GBM about his manifesto. He proposed the creation of a Centralised Distribution Hub to enable efficient distribution of merchandise across all clubs, departments, and associations. Some of his other points included floating open tenders to vendors for better economic feasibility, extending SU App services to C’Not, inaugurating a Freshers’ Week to jumpstart recruitments to clubs and departments, improving waste disposal systems in Meera and Budh Bhawan, and limiting Wi-Fi restrictions to only government-restricted websites.
Sanskar’s speech was followed by a question-and-answer session amongst the three candidates. Sanskar made some clarifications regarding the permissions required to allow the SU app in C’Not, considering the possession of the area by BET. Abhinav explained how his initiative “Therapy Through Art” would be beneficial for diagnosing mental health issues of the students. Ashish was questioned regarding the feasibility and need of the BITS Super app in his manifesto, further raising points about its functionality. Ashish shared details about his vision for the BITS Super App and how it would be a common usage app for the students. Abhinav elucidated his plans for the “Earn While You Learn” initiative and expressed his feelings about revamping old initiatives which could not be pursued during previous tenures.
Following this, the floor was opened for the GBM to pose questions to the General Secretary candidates. Ashish refuted accusations of having a semester-back, and expressed strong feelings about pushing academic initiatives despite not being ‘academically inclined’. Sanskar answered a question regarding his Freshers’ Week initiative and its possibility of interference with informal department interactions. With the conclusion of the question-and-answer session of the General Secretary candidates, the Presidential candidates came on stage to address the questions posed to them by the GBM. Munish answered a question addressing the issue of debt in the case of transition of auto vehicles from petrol to electric. Sahaj clarified that the presence of a sponsorship team for clubs would not threaten their independence. Sarthak shared details on the feasibility of conducting drives for passport and PAN card approval, paying major attention to the permissions and legal issues, although he found particular difficulty in understanding the meaning of ‘legalities’.
A question was posed to Munish by a member of the GBM who was from South India and inarticulate in Hindi. As he made him aware of his incapacity to speak Hindi, Munish claimed that since people fluent in English were a minority in the Pilani campus, they should relocate to Hyderabad instead. The GBM responded with shock and anger to this response. The same member questioned Munish regarding his nonchalant attitude towards people speaking languages other than Hindi. Munish’s attempts to clarify were drowned out by the overwhelmed crowd.
The debate concluded with the members of the Election Commission thanking the GBM for their attendance and informing them of the Auditorium Debate to be conducted on 8th September. The GBM were encouraged to reach out to the EC in case of any queries regarding the election processes.