Election Cycle 2026 Commences; Discrepancies in AUEC Procedure

On Monday, 27th April, 2026, the Ashoka University Election Commission (AUEC) announced the commencement of the process for the Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) election, for the Academic Year 2026-2027. Candidate registrations opened on the same day, and a candidate list was announced on Saturday, 2nd May. However, a series of discrepancies has occurred in the election process during this time period. 

As per Section 4.2 (D) of the Election Code shared on 27th April, “No student shall cast a vote in the election of representatives of a cohort other than their own.” However, the email announcing the candidates list on 2nd May, stated that, “Each student will have 15 votes and may vote for up to 15 candidates.” Since candidates are contesting for 15 seats in the Undergraduate (UG) Council, this poses a contradiction that goes against the voting rules of the Election Code. The EC later shared an updated email stating that, “each voter may cast up to 4 votes, with a maximum of one vote per candidate.” 

The Candidates List also contained mistakes in the list of candidates standing from the USF collective for UG Council positions. Names of graduating council members, such as Aditya Apurva (UG ‘26), Insha Husain (UG ‘26), Sneha Menon (UG ‘26), Razeen Ayesh (UG ‘26) and Tanisha Iyer (UG ‘26) were also included. The list also included an incorrect name, that of candidate Neha Kamboj (UG ‘26), apparently referring to councilor Naisha Kamboj (UG ‘26)

In email correspondence shared with The Edict, incumbent President of the AUSG Insha Husain (UG ‘26), brought this discrepancy to the attention of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navneet Kaur (UG ‘28). She wrote, “EC is supposed to extract data from the google forms to put in the candidate list. That is, every google form that has been submitted via the candidates needs to be used as the matrix for data collection, not a loose list given for collective registration, which includes even non-running or senior students.” The Candidate List has since been amended to reflect only the names of students who are eligible, and running for UG Council posts. 

Following the correspondence about the Candidates List, the AUEC shared another email requesting all candidates to upload their affidavits on a Google Drive link. This matter too was highlighted by Husain, who wrote to the AUEC, stating that this posed a breach in the “continuity” and “transparency” across candidates’ affidavits. She wrote, “Candidates themselves are not allowed to submit affidavits on the public form [...] to make candidate affidavits for the general student body, that is the EC’s responsibility [...].” 

The AUEC replied to this, stating that, “Given the time constraints, we will proceed as done last year, with candidates taking responsibility for their own campaigning.” However, Husain responded that affidavits were ratified and circulated by the AUEC last year as well. Uploading one’s own affidavit could have an “adverse effect” on the election as it allows for people to "upload anything, edit anything, delete anything etc.” She also stated that this was “against procedure” and “not a precedent.” 

Clarifying these concerns, the AUEC said that the practice of compiling affidavits was not a “mandatory responsibility of the Election Commission under the Election Code.” Given the time constraint and expedited nature of the election, the AUEC stated that it has “not been feasible for us to centrally draft, format, and ratify individual affidavits for all candidates within the election timeline.” However, to ensure “uniformity” and "procedural consistency,” the AUEC shared a standardized affidavit template with candidates, which they were expected to use for their final submission. The AUEC also wrote that these concerns would be taken into account for “future institutionalisation and codification” of election procedures. 

The Accountability Debate AY 25-26 which took place on 2nd May, also saw a lapse in logistics from the AUEC. The Accountability Debate is hosted every year to hold elected representatives and ministers responsible for the work they have done over the past two semesters. Attendees at the debate include the UG Council, House of Representatives (HoR), and Ministries. The debate was scheduled from 6pm-8pm, however, the AUEC failed to invite Vedant Malhotra (UG ‘26), Treasurer of the AUSG to the panel. Email correspondence shared with The Edict shows that the AUEC informed him at 6:31pm, writing “we sincerely hope you’re able to join us, and we’ll be happy to accommodate your participation [...].” Malhotra who was seated in the audience then joined the rest of the UG Council on stage. 

These discrepancies in procedure on the part of the AUSG raise concerns about the rushed timeline of this year's election cycle, transparency, and reliability in the election process. The campaigning period for candidates ends on 5th May at 12pm. The voting period will be open from 6th May, 12pm to 8th May 12pm. 

[Edited by Anamta Husain]