India, Aug. 30 -- F orget posters and pamphlets, this year's Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) election campaigning has gone full jungle safari! Walk through North or South Campus and you might just encounter a life-sized gorilla or a giant panda with a candidate's name plastered across its chest. Campaigners say this is a workaround born out of necessity. Delhi University has been cracking down on campaigning this year with a ban on canopies, a strict Rs.5,000 budget limit per candidate, and a continuing ban on printed posters, alongside a leash on car rallies. To manoeuvre this, candidates had to get inventive. "No matter how many regulations come into play, no one can curtail our creativity. Everyone's making posters, cards, and designing social media posts. So we thought how do we go a step further? What's quirkier and more attention-grabbing than a life-size gorilla walking through campus!" says Kishank Batra, a second-year student campaigning for candidate Ojasvi Sehrawat. The idea is perfectly timed. "The life-sized gorilla trend went viral on Instagram earlier this year during wedding season in Delhi, so it made sense to ride that wave. Also, DUSU elections get way more serious than they should be. It must have some fun too," says Kushagra, a final-year student of Kirori Mal College (KMC). Meanwhile, the humans inside the furry suits are seeing a different side of the city altogether. "Hum toh yeh shaadiyon ke liye perform karte thhe, par college wala experience bilkul alag hai," says Manoj Ram, a Dwarka-based performer who has been hired for DUSU campaigning this season. He adds, "University mein humesha bheed lagi rehti hai, students selfie lene ke liye bhaag ke aate hain, and kamaal ka hoot karte hain... mazaa aa raha hai." There is, however, a method to this madness (read: budget). "We reached out to companies that provide these costumes and negotiated the best deal. It's catching on fast, and it might just become the dominant theme of this year's elections!" says Chetanya Vashisht, a second-year student of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College and campaigner for candidate Hemant Khokhar....