Making a foray into student politics and leveraging its youth support base, the Aam Aadmi Party's Maharashtra Unit on Thursday announced the launch of its student wing, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) and youth wing, ‘Graduate's Forum’.

The party launched CYSS and Graduate Forum at the Hutatma Chowk in South Mumbai after paying homage to the martyr’s memorial. Hundreds of its young supporters were present at a gathering later at the Azad Maidan.

“Youth are the foundation of tomorrow’s India and have a crucial role to play in reforming politics. The role of a political party is the evolution of leadership and CYSS is an honest attempt to create leaders and allocate responsible positions to youth,” said Subhash Ware, Convenor of AAP Maharashtra.

“AAP has initiated its foray into student politics and going by the enormous support from students and party's cadre, CYSS will emerge as force to reckon with across the state. Moreover, traditional political parties haven't done justice to student's issues and have merely reduced them to pawn sin the game of petty politics, this is exactly what CYSS is attempting to change,” said Farooque Ahmed, AAP Maharashtra State Executive member and In-charge of CYSS.

The move days after Maharashtra’s Education Minister Vinod Tawde held a dialogue with youth wings of key political parties in Maharashtra on July 6 in an attempt to create a consensus for reviving elections in Maharashtra’s universities. Following rising violence in student elections, Maharashtra had banned student senate elections in state’s universities. Tawde invited a proposal from all political parties, and assured that the government would table an amendment to the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994 during the monsoon session of the state legislature starting in Mumbai on Monday.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students Union of India (NSUI), Shiv Sena’s Yuva Sena (YS) headed by Aaditya Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS), and Students Federation of India (SFI) are some of the other youth wings active in Maharashtra.