New Delhi: The Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA) on Wednesday announced their alliance for the upcoming Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections.

The two Left student organisations said their alliance would campaign on issues including affordable and safe student housing, concessional Metro passes, opposition to fee hikes, quality public education and academic freedom.

The announcement comes days after the Satya Niketan paying guest accommodation collapse, which the organisations said had highlighted unsafe living conditions and lack of affordable hostel facilities for students in Delhi.

"The absence of affordable and accessible hostels is not merely an inconvenience but a serious question of safety and dignity," the AISA-SFI alliance said in a joint statement.

The organisations accused the ABVP and NSUI of relying on money and muscle power and alleged that successive DUSU administrations had failed to adequately address issues concerning hostel accommodation and other everyday concerns of students.

The alliance said it would seek to build a political alternative centred on a "Hostels for All" campaign and other student welfare issues.

Citing the performance of Left-backed candidates in the previous DUSU elections, the organisations claimed that support for progressive student politics had been growing on the DU campus.

In the last DUSU elections, Left-supported candidates received 5,385 votes for the president's post, 4,163 votes for vice-president, 9,535 votes for secretary and 8,425 votes for joint secretary, according to the statement.

Around 2,80,000 student voters were eligible to vote in last year's elections, according to officials.

The alliance said it was confident that students were increasingly looking beyond the established politics represented by the ABVP and NSUI.

The DUSU elections are scheduled for September 18, with the counting set to take place the following day.

"This election is not merely about choosing office-bearers; it is about deciding what kind of student politics Delhi University deserves," the statement said.