The drastic decline in voter registrations has raised serious concerns about the university’s administrative processes and transparency, with many calling for reforms to restore faith in the democratic processes within the institution. A faculty member of MU said, “There is something wrong. The number of voters cannot drop like this. This is a huge decline. Investigating this would mean another five to six months delay.”

The matter

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For the graduate constituency, voter registration for 10 seats ran from October 30 to November 30, 2023. Verification of applications began on December 1, 2023, and continued until February 25, 2024. MU released the final voters’ list on February 26. Candidate applications were set for March 11, with the voting process scheduled for April 21 and counting on April 24. However, on February 28, MU issued a circular updating the schedule. Registered voters must now check the eligible and ineligible lists, with a window from February 29 to March 4 for correcting errors or seeking clarification.

What happened

The university announced Senate elections for 10 graduate constituency seats, with August 18 last year as the nomination deadline. The state government requested a re-examination of the voters’ list and directed MU to postpone the elections under Section 8 (7) of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act. On the same day, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar raised concerns over the electoral roll in a letter to Higher Education Minister Chandrakant Patil. On August 17, 2023, the government asked the university to investigate Shelar’s complaint and delay the election. A three-member committee led by R.S. Mali was formed.

The Bombay High Court then instructed MU to announce a revised schedule by October 25. The Higher and Technical Education Department filed an affidavit in response to a petition by advocate Sagar Devre, who claimed the university’s postponement decision was politically influenced. Devre sought annulment of the university’s August 17 circular that deferred the elections set for September 10.

Devre moved the higher court again alleging contempt, and the next hearing for the case is now scheduled for November 28. Mumbai University has maintained that the decision to defer elections was based on state government instructions. The Senate, comprising representatives from teachers, principals, graduates, and college management, acts as the university’s oversight body and approves the budget. With no functioning Senate since August 2022, due to the end of its term, significant decision-making power has shifted to the vice-chancellor. The matter remains pending with the Election Commission, which deferred elections due to the code of conduct until after the general elections.

“The ongoing issues surrounding the senate elections and the significant decline in voter registrations have highlighted the need for increased transparency and accountability within Mumbai University’s administration,” Gangurde said.

13,406
No of voters as of Wednesday