The Dhaka University Central Students’ Union elections are deeply entwined with Bangladesh’s student politics, historically shaping national movements from the 1952 Language Movement to the 1969 Mass Uprising and the 1971 Liberation War.
Originally slated to follow the one-year tenure of the last Ducsu, elected in 2019, the polls to central and hall unions are now set for September 9, ending a six-year hiatus. The 2019 elections themselves came nearly three decades after the previous polls, following a High Court directive.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Ducsu is often called the country’s “second parliament”. Its five student representatives in the 105-member Dhaka University Senate play a key role in ensuring democratic selection of the vice-chancellor, who is also the ex-officio president of Ducsu.
Over the years, Ducsu has produced national leaders including Rashed Khan Menon, Matia Chowdhury, Tofail Ahmed, ASM Abdur Rab, Mujahidul Islam Selim, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, and Akhtaruzzaman.
In 2019, most office bearers were elected from the then pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League, except Nurul Haq Nur, now president of Gono Adhikar Parishad, and Akhter Hossen, currently member secretary of the National Citizen Party.
Before that, in 1990, just before the BNP came to power, saw Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal sweep most of the 20 Ducsu posts, including vice president Amanullah Aman and general secretary Khairul Kabir Khokon. Around 600 candidates contested 30 panels, while over 3,000 vied for hall union positions. Subsequent attempts in 1991, 1996, 1998, and 2005 were abandoned amid violence or political opposition, and between 2012 and 2018, repeated student demands failed to yield election dates.
The upcoming polls will be the eighth Ducsu election since independence. Of the six held between 1972 and 1990, two took place under military ruler HM Ershad, when Ducsu played a pivotal role in the anti-autocracy movement. In the 1989 elections, Chhatra Sangram Parishad won all 23 central committee posts, with Sultan Mansur Ahmed and Mushtuq Husain elected vice president and general secretary.
Ducsu’s defining role in national struggles includes raising the first Bangladesh flag on March 2, 1971, days before formal declaration of independence, in front of the Arts Building by leaders ASM Abdur Rab and Abdul Kuddus Makhan. Over decades, the student body has consistently acted as a crucible for political leadership and activism.
Since Dhaka University’s establishment in 1921, student governance evolved gradually. Initially, three residential halls — Dhaka Hall, Muslim Hall, and Jagannath Hall — elected separate student bodies.
The first Ducsu elections took place in 1925-26, electing Mamataj Uddin Ahmed as vice president and Yogendranath Sengupta as general secretary. Until 1953, Ducsu polls were conducted indirectly through hall unions, before transitioning to a centralised voting process.
This year’s election will be the 38th in DU history. Of the previous 37, 29 were held under British rule and the Pakistan era. After independence, the first polls in 1972 elected Mujahidul Islam Selim as vice president and Mahbub Zaman as general secretary.