After a 15-day shutdown and Durga Puja vacation, the Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU) election campaign has once again gathered pace on campus.
From Monday morning, the entire campus turned festive as candidates resumed door-to-door canvassing. The Election Commission has meanwhile extended the campaign period by 10 days, allowing candidates to campaign until October 14 midnight.
During the day, candidates were seen distributing ballot numbers and manifestos to students at Transport Market, Tukitaki Chattar and other key points across the campus, while pledging to address various problems. However, student presence remained relatively thin as classes had just resumed after the long break.
Vice President candidate Sheikh Nur Uddin Abir, representing the BNP-backed Oikkoboddho Notun Projonmo panel, said: “After the long vacation, we returned to campaigning today. On World Teachers’ Day, we began by offering prayers at the grave of Professor Shamsuzzoha.”
General Secretary candidate Fahim Reza, backed by Islami Chhatra Shibir, remarked: “There was a festive environment around the RUCSU polls which was disrupted by the ‘pet quota’ issue. Repeated rescheduling has created doubts among students. But no one will be able to stop the ongoing train of RUCSU.”
He urged the university administration to “abandon any idea of derailing Racsu” and to “deliver to students the long-expected student union.”
Chief Election Commissioner Dr F. Nazrul Islam said: “We are once again witnessing student enthusiasm. Due to the rescheduling of the polls, the campaign period has been extended. Candidates will be able to campaign in line with the code of conduct from October 6 to 14.”
According to the commission, a total of 247 candidates are contesting for 23 Racsu posts. Of them, 18 are vying for the Vice President post, 13 for General Secretary and 16 for Assistant General Secretary. The university has 28,901 voters—11,305 female and 17,596 male. In addition, 306 candidates are competing in the Senate polls, while 600 are contesting in hall union elections.
Earlier, on September 20, classes and examinations were suspended due to a shutdown programme called by teachers and staff demanding institutional benefits. As students began leaving the campus, the Election Commission, in an emergency meeting, rescheduled the polling date from September 25 to October 16. The decision to extend campaign time followed this rescheduling.
