Online Elections

Every year, we, the students of IIT Bombay elect our representatives who are responsible for various spheres of student life. With the elections being conducted online, we expect a greater number of students voting.

For first-timers, here’s some general information about the institute election.

The General Secretaries (Academic Affairs UG, Academics Affairs PG, Cultural Affairs, Hostel Affairs, Sports Affairs and Technical Affairs) are elected by all the students of the institute. The institute secretaries, on the other hand, are elected by a closed electorate consisting of 5 members from each hostel. For example, the electorate for the Institute Football Secretary would typically consist of the Hostel General Secretary, Hostel Sports Councillor and 3 football players from each hostel.

The Election Committee, headed by the DoSA is responsible for ensuring a fair election. Anirudh Mittal, the outgoing GSTA and returning Election Officer answered some of our questions about this year’s process.

How were the groundworks different this year?

Groundworks have become easier to schedule as there is no longer a need to go to different hostels. They are less tiring physically at least. Groundworks often involve building trust but the online mode makes it difficult to develop such connections. The connection with freshies has been less and it may reflect in lesser groundworks with freshers. It remains a challenge to integrate their viewpoints into manifestos.

How would the candidates campaign and what are the rules and regulations for the same?

In a traditional semester, as the elections approach we can see some changes in our institute. We can see the candidates going into the hostels for groundworks, displaying their manifestos, putting up flexes, etc. But this year, we are bound to miss such campaigning. Even though there are many students on the campus, any sort of campaigning inside the campus is not being allowed due to safety reasons. Soapboxes will still be conducted but in an online mode and manifesto videos of the candidates would also be shared. The election committee has also asked the administration to make some videos highlighting the importance of elections and encouraging the student to vote.

Although owing to the online semester, we expect some innovative modes of campaigning this year, with the advent of online campaigning, we need to be careful too as this medium can be misused. So, the election committee would be stricter regarding the rules and regulations: 

• The committee will be more vigilant in checking the social media pages of the candidates and any toxic anti-campaigning (e.g. polarizing on the basis of religion, releasing personal screenshots or audio clips without the consent of stakeholders) will have serious repercussions. 
• Previously, only the candidates and their campaign managers came under the purview of the strict election rules. But this year, the election committee has extended the rules to all the students to ensure fair and healthy campaigning. Malpractices will be reported to the Dean SA and the offenders could be considered for DAC/WDAC.

How do we vote?

Due to the online semester, we would have to vote for the candidates online by logging onto the election portal through our LDAP using SSO. All the on-roll students will be allowed to vote. Even though the freshers have not lived in the institute, they are allowed to vote as they are a big stakeholder in the elections. In order to create awareness about the elections among the freshers, the election committee is trying to take the help of the SMP network. They are planning to create proper channels so the freshers can understand the manifestos and make an informed decision.

Concluding Remarks

Students have their share of complaints against the student representatives. This is the time to exercise their right to vote, and vote for the change they seek. It is strongly recommended to vote for the candidates based on their manifestos instead of voting for them based on hostels, departments, contacts or friendships. 

Not voting is giving up your voice! Everyone should vote for the betterment of the IIT Bombay community. The process this time will be easier than before- just follow the directions given in the email received on student notices. Do vote!