Mission Admission and Beyond - Part IV

Part IV: A Tryst with Elections and Politics...

One afternoon in the last week of August, the ENTIRE hostel was called to the field; we wondered what was wrong, as till then such an exercise was never conducted. We were asked to bunk classes (if at all), bunk DramSoc, bunk anything that we would otherwise do at that moment on a normal day, and assemble at the field, and then were made to switch off our cell phones as well. So all this only added to the apprehension. But things emerged pretty soon. The seniors briefed us up about the College Elections that are conducted every year, and then they told us whom they nominated as candidates for the posts of President and Secretary of the respective societies, the students union etc. The highest one is the President of the College Students Union. The societies are: ComSoc (Commerce Society), EcoSoc (Economics Society), ELS (English Literary Society), HSS (Hindi Sahitya Sabha), HPS (History and Political Science Society)…there are other ones too – Fine Arts, Mathematics and Computer Science Society etc.

The DramSoc and DebSoc however don’t hold elections; they simply nominate their heads. We had a good look of who was presenting his candidature…not that we cared, but it’s just that everything was so new then. We never faced ‘serious’ elections like these before; the ones at school were nowhere this intense. Everything seemed planned and coordinated and hence, every decision of theirs was put out to us as unanimous. We being the inexperienced fuchchas that we are, took everything on face value. Until, two of my friends and me were called to a restaurant, fed well, and given a glimpse of the ‘other side’ of the story. We were told how the ‘internals’ (a typical election jargon – it’s the process of deciding on who stands up for which post) were all ‘stage-managed’ and that these guys (the ones who treated us) got a raw deal. The three of us were perplexed for quite sometime, and we decided to call an ‘internal meeting’ of our own. This however would involve only our batch mates. The initial buzz around the elections being very high, everyone turned up. We discussed whom we felt should stand up, and tried understanding the intricacies of this political maze. We are however given no right to choose (as per hostel tradition). We are supposed to support whom the seniors ask us to, irrespective of his eligibility, capability etc. And considering that in all the years earlier, there was always a single panel from the hostel, there was never a doubt of our allegiance. This year, unfortunately, there were two panels from the hostel. Both of them were right in their own ways, and we were supposed to vote and campaign united. This was however the tough part. We love our seniors, and asking us to choose was a thing unacceptable to us. We spoke to both camps, at a micro level and the macro level as well, to somehow bridge gaps between them. But things couldn’t fall in place. The instructions were loud and clear: 1. Choose one panel and support it unanimously 2. Make sure that ultimately a hosteller alone wins (for he has worked the hardest and will continue to do so) But choosing which panel to support was THE task on hand. Both camps would come to our block, brainwash us for hours to the point of making us all agreeing to their stand. The pendulum swings of opinion were just there to be seen. After a particular session by say Camp A, the entire junior block would be with them. Then immediately, after the Camp B’s address, the entire block would be with them. There was no consistency of opinion. Every time new points would be raised, more questions to be answered, and more skeletons out of the cupboards. This just went on and on…every night, till 2 AM or 3 AM even at times. When we realized that it was time to give our opinions, as a batch, to preserve ‘batch-unity’ (an oxymoron actually) and to ensure that there are no further flip-flops and that the actual election strategy can be engineered. I just sent out an sms, asking my batch mates’ opinion on an open debate, between the candidates…it was just a crazy idea, but I never for once thought that it would actually turn out to be the case. Surprisingly, ALL those I messaged agreed, and one by one, we had these debates. After each debate, we (the juniors) were supposed to vote (secretly) and then the majority verdict would be followed. This was done to ensure that our respective allegiances weren’t known to our seniors and so that some unanimity in the decision is brought. Let me now bug you with all the details…but quite a few uncomfortable details came out during these debates. Horrible allegations, and counter-allegations, points and counter-points…. we’ve seen them all now, and verified them as well. In spite of our calls for unanimity, the batch ultimately got divided for a few days…into these two camps. I won’t comment on whom our batch chose for which post, after all the majority rules (isn’t it?). I’ll spare you all the details lest you feel like pressing Alt+F4. We campaigned - which meant introducing the candidates to our peer-groups, smsing them, calling them up, buttering them, writing the names of the candidates on the black-boards, speaking highly of them - in full force, and were somehow supposed to ensure that we bring in their votes. The equations were simple…700 votes are polled normally. There are 120 hostellers. All hostellers will vote together…and assuming each hosteller brings in atleast two more dayski (slang for day-scholar) votes, which accounts for 120+120*2=360…. majority!!! The hosteller has won. Simple enough, isn’t it? That’s precisely the reason, why a hosteller always wins. The 7th of September was the Speech Day, on this day, all the candidates were supposed to make their last ditch effort at capturing the neutral votes. The actual voting was supposed to be on the 8th of September. Each of us sent 50 odd text messages to our friends…somehow trying to influence them to vote for those whom we were supporting. After the rather easy voting process (we used EVMs), all we had to do was to wait…and this wait turned out to be one of the longest, yet most interesting waits of our lives. The DramSoc crowd too was waiting for the result, and so was the hostel crowd… that meant two huge, noisy, fun-loving groups together. Five of us were common to both the groups, and we had the MAX fun. We sang lallas, cheered, carried out mock-processions…it was just full on BC (sorry, can’t expand!). One of the lallas for a girl from my class (Eco) and my roomie in the hostel (B.Com)…both of them were so terribly embarrassed…that it’s to be seen to be believed. And there’s also a spicy term for a B.Com guy falling for an Eco girl (or vice versa)…. It’s called an ‘intercourse’ relation… pun (un) intended!!! After the results were declared, we embraced each other and just ran back to our rooms, to change clothes for the first of our election parties. It was in the canteen…we were made to stand topless (we’re guys, don’t worry!) on the tables and cheer, howl, shriek and shout out slogans. While we do all that, litres of cold drinks are poured on us…we actually took bath in cold drinks (last heard – over 150 litres of cold drinks were used). The slogans were all rhythmic (with foot tapping and all) – ‘Arre College Presi kaisa ho, Pratyush Kumar jaisa ho’ Our voices actually cracked after all the vociferous screaming and sloganeering. Every single thing was photographed, for us to cherish. Immediately after that, we were asked to put on our shirts and go for the ‘Victory Lap’ (see the adjoining picture) That party however was arguably the most enjoyable one of life (and the most tiring too). Oh, I just missed out on the DUSU (Delhi University Students’ Union) elections, may be because it seriously didn’t matter to us, who won … ABVP or NSUI. The others (SFI, INSO, USF and the like) stood no chance, and that was pretty obvious. Both the student bodies heavily bribed us though. Don’t get surprised… no cash was offered. It’s just that any food we ordered would come at our doorsteps, any amount of soft drinks, and any amount of hard drinks too. We shamelessly hogged like gluttons. We actually had a two-dinner regime for a few days…the ‘normal’ dinner at 8 and the ‘bribe’ at 11.30. We waited for the second one (obviously!!!). One evening, there was no water in the hostel cooler, and we just called the NSUI guy up, and we just had enormous amounts of soft drinks ready at our disposal!!! But really, no one actually cared about who won the DUSU elections, we were more bothered about the free treats (and they were always welcome!) The second election party was on the Sunday evening. It was not a teetotaler party however though. Liquor flowed like water on that evening. And so many of my friends went ‘talli’ and started uttering non compos mentis (leading to ridiculous situations). We were astounded to find some guys drink inconceivable quantities and with élan…guys whom no one thought would even mouth alcohol. So that was one day to remember…it doubtlessly was.

PS: You are not allowed to magnify the first image, or ask for more of that sort!