NSUI wrests control of DUSU amid allegations and ruckus

Congress's student wing NSUI today wrested control of the Delhi University's students union, defeating BJP-affiliated ABVP on almost all panel seats amid ruckus on the campus and allegations of abuse and irregularities.

High drama overshadowed the announcement of the election results with the ABVP cadre refusing to accept the result, terming it "planned" and smelling a conspiracy.

As results were announced declaring the NSUI candidates victorious on the posts of president, vice president and secretary, with a tie between ABVP and NSUI joint secretary candidates, the activists of the losing side started shouting slogans against the Congress government.

They broke through the barricades and climbed gates of the election office, prompting police to crack down on them. Several people, including two candidates, were injured in the police action.

NSUI's Arun Hooda defeated his nearest rival Ankit Dhananjoy Choudhary of ABVP by a margin of 5,465 votes in the contest for the post of president. Hooda polled 17,621 votes against Choudhary's 12,156.

It is after a gap of two years that NSUI has managed to get majority of the seats on the DUSU panel. In the last two years, ABVP rode on an anti-corruption and anti-inflation plank to win a majority of seats in the prestigious election.

While NSUI's spokesperson Amrish Pandey termed it a "wipeout of the saffron force", ABVP's state secretary Rohit Chahal charged that the results were crafted in favour of Congress's student wing.

"This was all done with planning. They wanted to ensure that NSUI wins. What were Congress MPs Deepender Hooda and Bhupender Hooda doing in the campus early in the morning?" asked a disgruntled Chahal.

The other candidates that turned out victorious were NSUI's Varun Khari who won 17,848 votes to defeat ABVP's Gaurav Chaudhary by a margin of 4,475.

Varun Choudhry, who won by a margin of 2,617 votes, is the new DUSU Secretary. He polled 15,605 votes against his ABVP rival Ritu Rana's 12,988.

"This is a clear wipe out of the saffron force from the campus. See how they are behaving after defeat," said Pandey as ABVP activists shouted slogans and clashed with police.

The election for joint secretary was declared a tie between NSUI's Raveena Choudhary and ABVP's Vishu Basoya, and it was not immediately clear as to who will be adjudged the holder of the post.

While some said the younger candidate is declared a winner in such circumstances, the ABVP demanded that a recount is done in front of the candidates.

"The machines were not shown to the candidates at the counting centre. We want re-count of all seats," Chahal said.

Celebrations broke out in the NSUI camp and the victorious candidates were carried away by cheering supporters.

"Ayi Ayi... NSUI," shouted supporters as they went through the campus celebrating their victory.

On the other hand, the scene in the ABVP camp turned from grim to angry.
The police, deployed in heavy numbers, jumped into action after some ABVP activists broke the barricades, and used force to push them back.

While some people were arrested, some were injured in the melee as policemen chased the group back. ABVP activists were chased right back to the Central Library. As some of them crashed into the library, policemen followed them inside. Some students claimed they were manhandled by police.

"We were taken aback. Policemen came inside the library and started raining batons even on students who were studying there since morning. We were in no way connected to what was happening outside," said Harinath Prasad, a law student who was at the library when the ruckus happened.

Some ABVP activists were seen crying after the announcement.     Two of the ABVP candidates -- Ankit and Vishu Basoya -- were also injured and taken to hospital.
"At least 10 of our boys are injured, some even have fractures. Two of them got head injuries," Chahal said.

The students were admitted to Bara Hindu Rao hospital.