Big turnout at SRCC, not so at Khalsa

AAP MLA briefly detained for DU poll code violation

Over 43  per cent Delhi University students turned out to vote amid high security in a keenly contested battle for DU Students’ Union elections on Friday.

The elections have seen Congress-affiliated NSUI and debutant CYSS, Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing, trying to gain turf in city’s student politics. Last year, the BJP-backed ABVP had won all four DUSU central panel posts. Friday voting went off peacefully, according to Chief Returning Officer D S Rawat. DU had deployed 23 observers to check violations of poll code in 50 varsity institutions.

Counting of votes is due for Saturday morning after which the results will be declared.

A total of 1,35,298 voters,  were eligible to cast vote in the DUSU polls for the four top posts  of president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary.

Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College recorded the maximum turnout of 91 per cent voters. Department of Buddhist Studies polled the least – 21 per cent votes.

Among campus colleges, Shri Ram College of Commerce reported the highest turnout of 70 per cent while the minimum voter turnout of 27 per cent was at SGTB Khalsa College.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Delhi) Madhur Verma said large contingents of police were deployed in the North Campus. The movement of vehicles was also restricted on Chhatra Marg to avoid inconvenience to students.

But a few cases of poll code violations were reported from the campus. In one such case, police briefly detained Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sanjeev Jha for allegedly breaching poll norms.

Police said he, along with his supporters, was found wandering near the Ramjas College when the voting was going on.

High stakes

Getting into the DUSU central panel often means getting a passage to the big party league. Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are among the many who began their political careers with DUSU.

Buoyed by its victory in the Assembly polls, the AAP, with its student outfit Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), is hoping to make inroads in DU student politics, traditionally dominated by Congress’ National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The ABVP had won last year’s polls, trouncing its arch-rival NSUI on all four DUSU seats, a feat achieved after a gap of 17 years.