“No political association”: Registrar’s office issues new undertaking to candidates

On Friday, 25th April, 2024 the Registrar’s Office informed all election candidates requesting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) that a new mandatory undertaking must be signed in order to receive the NOC. The document requires students to declare that they are “not currently a member of or in association with any political party or organization.”

It also specifies that in the event of a violation of this undertaking, including “any proven association with a political party or organization” the University reserves the right to “terminate membership of any capacity in the  Student Government (SG) immediately without prior notice.” The university will also initiate the appropriate “disciplinary proceedings.”

An email to the student body sent on Sunday, 27th April, 2025, on behalf of the United Students Front (USF), stated  that the NOC’s obtained by students who signed the undertaking further doubled down on the above condition. The NOC says that “The University has no objection if you contest the election for the academic year 2025-26, subject to the conditions that you must not be associated, directly or indirectly, with any political party, religious group, or other politically motivated organizations.”

This development comes in the aftermath of several candidates being temporarily denied NOCs during the initial timelines of the election starting in March.

Speaking at the annual Accountability Debate held on Friday, 25th April, outgoing AUSG members addressed the new undertaking, calling it a hurdle in the timely conduction of student elections.

In an interview with  The Edict, UG Councilor Insha Husain (UG ‘26) expressed concern over the vagueness of the policy laid out in the undertaking, “Very vague and generalized terms have been used, and there is no specification in terms of what you are and what you are not allowed to do.” Husain remarked that ambiguity in defining political affiliation could restrict individuals from participating in external events on their own accord. “Am I not allowed to go to even an issue-based protest? If something happens and I go to a protest, will that declare me as politically motivated?” she asked.

Husain also noted the infeasibility of any AUSG or student pushback or conversation surrounding the new undertaking due to the immediate need of completing the AUSG elections before the end of the Spring ’25 semester. 

She  said students “already approached the registrar” for clarifications on the undertaking and were told that they would be reverted to. This leaves students seeking NOC’s with no option but to sign the undertaking; according to Husain,  “I don’t think there would be enough time for us to be able to run a full-fledged campaign or even have the elections at all if we delay it by another three to four days.”

Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR), Ahana Walanju (UG ‘26) told The Edict that she has not currently asked for an NOC due to the new policy.  “It’s just another tactic of the administration to push the elections into exam week and submerge a lot of voices on campus”, she said. Walanju also spoke about the verification process regarding involvement in political parties saying that “they’re probably going to look at social media posting. They’ve done that before and they continue to do that.” 

In the event that the Registrar does not revoke the undertaking or rephrase the NOC, Walanju says that she will sign the undertaking. “If it means compromising on certain things for a current election, in order to have a successful election then so be it. This is something we can take up in the subsequent academic year as well,” she concluded. 

Talking to The Edict, Chief Election Commissioner Muhammed Razin (UG ‘27) said that the Election Commission (EC) drafted a proposal to amend the undertaking and submitted it to the Registrar on Saturday, 26th April. 

The amendment states that candidates shall “refrain from representing or campaigning on behalf of any political party or organization within the University during my time in the Student Government. My personal political views or affiliations outside the scope of University governance shall remain my private matter.” This aligns with the Election Code which already states in Section 9.5 that candidates must not falsely claim or claim “endorsements or support from individuals, political parties, organizations, or entities both offline and online.” 

Razin, who is in the process of constituting new Election Commissioners, also stated that EC members did not have to sign the same undertaking. The NOC issued to them also does not contain the same condition regarding political affiliation. 

The Edict reached out to the Registrar’s Office for a comment on the new undertaking and NOC’s, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing this article.