HoR 2025: New Leadership, New Roles, and a Push for Representation

The newly elected Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) House of Representatives (HoR) has appointed Sneha Menon (UG ‘26) from the United Student Front (USF) as its speaker. The final vote tally for the elections was unanimous. The HoR acts as the foremost representative of the student body, making decisions, passing legislation and issuing statements on behalf of them, both within and outside the University. 

Speaking to The Edict, Menon voiced gratitude for the continued support for the USF on campus: “This result clearly shows that the student body wants to uphold a democratic and progressive space at Ashoka, and they know that USF are the ones who will be fighting for it. We will continue the struggle for social justice, champion the wishes of students, and be a leading platform for marginalized groups all over campus.” Menon further highlighted the intent to unite student representatives across cohorts and roles, and to push forward a pro-student, pro-worker agenda in collaboration with the President and Vice President. 

The Council also elected its HoR members, which follows a procedure of an internal Single Transferable Vote system. The newest UG Council was divided into two lists: the Independents' List and the USF List. As per this system, each member of the list ranked the candidates in order of their preference.  

Out of the 7 elected HoR members, 6 belong to USF: Ayush Solapurkar (UG ‘27), Karandeep Gill (UG ‘26), Sneha Menon (UG ‘26), Tanisha Iyer (UG ‘26), Naisha Kamboj (UG ‘26) and Hima Madhu (UG ‘28). While 4 Independent candidates were initially elected in the UG council, Solapurkar joined the USF list following the election. Currently, the HoR seat distribution stands at 6 for USF and 1 for Independents. Maryam Andleeb (UG ‘28) is the Independent HoR candidate. 

Looking Forward: New Ministers, Treasurer, & Public Relations Director

In an email sent to the student body on Sunday, June 1st, 2025 the AUSG announced the opening of inductions for the position of ‘Minister’ for all 7 ministries, namely: Ministry of Academic Affairs, Campus Life Ministry, Ministry of Community Well-being, Cultural Ministry (Jazbaa), Technology Ministry, Sports Ministry and Environment Ministry. They also laid out cabinet mandates for the post of each Minister. The mail reiterated the new structure of the Student Government being representative of all academic cohorts, and hence urged candidates to consider the breadth and depth of a Minister's responsibility and account for the same in their applications.

Two posts within the AUSG were also opened up for inductions—the Treasurer, who will draft the annual budgetary allocation of the SG, alongside maintaining detailed records of finances, and the Public Relations Director, who will be responsible for managing the outreach of the AUSG as well as all External Affairs.

The final selection for all of the above positions will take place in a public hearing through a vote in the HoR to confirm the selected candidate's appointment. All applications also require a No Objection Certificate (NoC), an essential component necessary for all students who aim to occupy positions in the AUSG.

The AUSG assured the student body that all form responses will be anonymized by the AUEC to ensure impartiality, reaffirming their commitment to a fair and unbiased interview process. They further stated that if any conflict of interest arises involving the President, Vice President, or Speaker during the interviews, the concerned individual will recuse themselves. In such instances, another member of the HoR will participate in the interview to maintain transparency and fairness. 

Applications to the positions of Minister, Treasurer and Public Relations Director remain open till Sunday, June 15th, 2025 EOD. 

(Edited by Fatema Tambawalla and Somansh Sarangi)