A new panel named Sarbojanin Chhatra Sangsad has entered the race for the upcoming elections to the Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union, with a former coordinator of Students Against Discrimination, Tasin Khan, contesting for the post of vice-president.
The panel was announced on Thursday at a press conference in front of the Satyendranath Bose Academic Building.
Tasin becomes the first woman in RUCSU’s 63-year history to run for the post of vice-president.
With the latest panel, Sarbojanin Chhatra Sangsad, the number of panels to vie in the elections has reached eight.
Rajon Al Ahmed, a student of materials science and engineering, will contest for the post of general secretary, and former students’ coordinator Mahair Islam will vie for the post of assistant general secretary from the Sarbojanin Chhatra Sangsad panel.
The panel also fielded candidates for other posts including Shit Kumar Orang for sports affairs secretary, Amit Tanchangya for cultural affairs secretary, Samsad Jahan for women’s affairs secretary, Sarowar Jahan for information and research affairs secretary, Tofayel Ahmed for science and technology affairs secretary, Gopal Roy for literature and debate affairs secretary, and Ujjal Tanchangya for environment and social welfare affairs secretary.
Speaking at the press conference, Tasin said that her panel sought to build a representative RUCSU for all students, regardless of ideology or background.
‘We want a student union where every student realises education is not only for oneself, but also for the parents, farmers, and workers who sustain this institution. We want leadership that can give back its investment. We aim to build a university where research, culture, and leadership bring real change to people’s lives,’ she said.
Of the seven other panels, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir announced their panels on September 7, and eight left and progressive organisations’ panel ‘Ganatantrik Shikkharthi Parishad’ and another panel ‘RUCSU for Radical Change’ were announced on September 8.
On September 9, a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra Union announced its panel to vie in the elections.
On September 10, three former coordinators announced a panel named ‘Adhipatyabirodhi Okya’ and Islami Chhatra Andolan announced its panel named Socheton Shikkharthi Parishad before submission of their nomination papers.
On Wednesday, the election commission for RUCSU polls published the preliminary list of candidates, clearing 255 contestants for 23 posts, and rejecting the nominations of seven aspirants.
According to the list, 19 candidates are set to contest for the post of vice-president, 14 for general secretary, and 16 for assistant general secretary in the RUCSU elections, slated for September 25.
A total of 60 candidates will vie for five posts of Senate representatives.
The final list of candidates will be published on September 14.
