Once nicknamed the ‘Oxford of the East,’ the Allahabad University is often considered the nursery of Uttar Pradesh politics. That sentiment seems to have inspired student leader Richa Singh, as she entered mainstream politics on Saturday, with her formal induction into the Samajwadi Party.
Cabinet Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav administered her oath at the party headquarters here.
Ms. Singh, 28, hit the limelight last year after she became the first female president of the Allahabad University Students Union since independence. She then made news for her staunch opposition to hard line BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, taking on the ABVP, and her alleged harassment by the university administration for on-campus activism and raising gender sensitivity issues.
Recently, she also faced the threat of having her admission nullified, and her ordeal was even raised in the Parliament by members of other parties.
Ms. Singh believes that the SP’s “socialist ideology” and “strong structure” will give her the space to actively push issues concerning women and youth. “By fighting off Yogi Adityanath, we defended our campus from communalism. Now, our aim is to fight communalism in the State,” the M. Phil gold medallist said.
“Today we stare at two models of youth politics. One propagated by the BJP, which suppresses the youth’s voice, and fosters communalism. On the other, we have the socialism model, which treats every section equally. Socialism is the need of the hour,” Ms Singh told The Hindu . “Since the SP follows the socialist ideology, I can use the space given by the party to work on women and youth issues,” she explained why she chose to join the SP.
Asked why she did not choose any of the Left parties, when their leaders had openly supported her cause, Ms. Singh said: “The Left is losing ground. The SP is a strong party. The Left can also be extremist, just like the Right.”
She, however, said she does not intend to immediately fight elections nor has sought a ticket but is not averse to the idea in future.
Though Ms. Singh won the student election as an independent candidate, she was backed by the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, the SP’s student wing.
The SP has also openly supported her during her ordeal and her name was at the last moment included in the list of women to be conferred the Rani Laxmi Bai bravery award on International Women’s Day.
