New Delhi: In a first, Delhi University has banned inviting celebrities for campaigning for candidates contesting Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, TOI has learnt.
They were in Delhi to promote a film, ‘Singh vs Kaur 2’. In the run-up to 2025 elections, ABVP presidential candidate Aryan Maan received video endorsements from Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt and Randeep Hooda, while Haryanvi singer Masoom Sharma composed a campaign song for him and joined an ABVP rally.
The move is aimed at curbing the “spectacle and show of money and influence” that has come to be associated with campus electioneering, official sources said. The two celebrities had reached the campus and were waiting for clearance to take part in the roadshow, according to organisation sources. “The university in the past repeatedly allowed ABVP to invite celebrities and hold roadshows,” he said. A university official, however, said the permission was rejected keeping in mind the traffic disruption caused by such roadshows. “The university has decided not to allow any such roadshow in the spirit of keeping the elections strictly in accordance with Lyngdoh Committee guidelines, which also prohibits use of display of money and influence in student politics,” the official said.
The decision came after Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), the student wing of Aam Aadmi Party , sought permission to organise a celebrity roadshow featuring actors-singers Shehnaaz Gill and Gippy Grewal Thursday. Reacting to DU’s decision barring celebrities from campaigning, ASAP Delhi vice-president Kamal Tiwari alleged the ban was biased. Celebrities and popular performers have increasingly become part of the spectacle around DUSU campaigning.