New Delhi: Fee hikes, hostel shortage, campus safety, and demand for concessional metro passes have emerged as the central issues in the September 18 Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections.

Prominent student groups have launched their campaign amid opposition to the university's decision to mandate a Rs 1 lakh bond for contestants.

The RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) state secretary Sarthak Sharma said they have launched a campaign titled "My DU, My Manifesto" to gather inputs from students.

"Nearly 20,000 students participated in our 'Student Dialogue' programme held at 10 places across the city. We raised issues such as setting up a centralised hostel allocation system, well-functioning internal complaints committees in every college, rollback of unregulated fee hikes, and uniformity under the 'one course, one fee' campaign," Sharma told PTI. He said the ABVP will prepare an inclusive manifesto by listening to students' views.

The Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI) flagged long-standing concerns, saying it would prepare its manifesto after consulting students.

"The major issues are fee hikes in colleges, shortage of hostels, and the need for more police booths in the North Campus and other areas due to frequent harassment cases. We are also demanding concessional bus and metro passes for students, a demand we have consistently raised," NSUI National Secretary Honey Bagga said.

The Left-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) and Students' Federation of India (SFI), contesting the polls jointly, said their priority was to end skill enhancement and value addition courses, ensure metro passes and hostels for all, curb fee hikes, and strengthen internal complaints committees.

AISA General Secretary Prasanjeet said the alliance is focused on reversing policies that burden students. SFI General Secretary Aishe Ghosh strongly opposed the bond requirement, calling it "an unprecedented attack on the democratic spirit of the university."

This year's election is expected to shape up as a three-cornered contest, with ABVP relying on its organisational network, NSUI looking to consolidate, and the Left alliance projecting itself as an alternative raising "real issues."

Delhi University, in a notification issued on August 8, said contestants must submit a refundable Rs 1 lakh bond to prevent defacement of property during campaigning.

In the 2024 elections, NSUI won the president and joint secretary posts, while ABVP secured the vice-president position and retained the secretary post. Polling for this year's DUSU elections will be held on September 18, with counting the next day.