The elections to the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) concluded on Friday with all three organisations, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and the Left alliance claiming victory before the announcement of results.
The voting was held in two phases. The first phase voting was held from 8:30 am to 1 pm and the second phase was held from 3 pm to 7:30 pm.
More than 1.45 lakh students cast their vote in the elections at the varsity’s North and South campuses till 5.45 pm, an official statement said.
After the conclusion of the elections, the ABVP thanked the students for participating in the electoral process. ABVP National General Secretary Yagyavalkya Shukla claimed a positive environment in favour of his organisation owing to its student-centric manifesto.
“The ABVP will continuously work on student issues, focus on the important role of student unions, and make efforts to ensure that student unions play a transformative role in the new era,” he added.
The NSUI raised serious concerns about irregularities during polling. “Voting began late in several colleges and was significantly slowed down during the polling raising doubts about the integrity of the electoral process,” said NSUI president Varun Choudhary.
The NSUI demanded transparency in the subsequent part of the electoral process, specifically regarding the storage and handling of the EVM (Electronic Voting Machines).
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court allowed the DU to move ahead with the elections but barred it from counting votes till it was assured that all campaign materials such as posters, hoardings, and graffiti were removed after the elections and that no public property was damaged or defaced. The court further directed that EVMs and ballot boxes be securely stored until further orders.
Following the court’s order, the university, in a letter to the election officers asked them to keep the ballot boxes after the elections in a safe and secured place in their respective colleges under proper security in a strong room in the college and the machines should be sent through Gate No.1 to Examination Branch, North Campus, University of Delhi.
Meanwhile, an exercise was launched by the students to remove all posters and banners put up by student organizations across the university’s north campus.