Voting for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections is underway amid high security on Friday at the north and south campuses of the university. Heavy police deployment was made at both the campuses for smooth functioning of the elections. Police personnel on motorbikes were seen patrolling the campus.
Students from different DU colleges were seen standing in long queues to cast their vote to elect a new president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary. Around 1.40 lakh students are eligible to cast their votes.
Voting will take place in two phases – students from morning colleges will cast their vote till 1pm and those from evening colleges from 3pm till 7.30pm. A total of 21 candidates are vying for the positions with eight candidates contesting for the post of president, five for vice president, and four each for the posts of joint secretary and secretary.
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI), and the left-wing alliance of the All India Students' Association (AISA) and Students' Federation of India (SFI) are the key players this year.
Speaking to PTI videos, national-level leaders of both the ABVP and NSUI expressed confidence of securing victory.
"ABVP has been extensively campaigning for the elections over the past few days. We have been able to reach out to around 1 lakh students during this period. ABVP has had a strong presence in DUSU for many years. We have consistently stood by the students and raised their concerns. As a result, we are seeing positive reactions and support from the students. We are fully confident that the students are with us, and ABVP will win the polls 4-0," said Yagywalkya Shukla, national general secretary of ABVP.
NSUI president Varun Chaudhary said, "This year's elections are not ordinary. They are crucial for saving the university. For many years, a culture of violence has emerged in the university because of ABVP. We have promised a violence-free campus. In addition, we have also pledged to address issues like paper leaks and fee control."
The battle for the post of president is expected to be a tight race between ABVP's Rishabh Chaudhary, NSUI's Rounak Khatri and AISA's Saavy Gupta.
Rishabh Chaudhary, who hails from Ganaur, Sonipat is a graduate of Shyam Lal College and is currently a student in the Department of Buddhist Studies. Saavy Gupta contesting as an AISA candidate is a third-year law student at Law Centre-2. The vice president post is a contest between ABVP's Bhanu Pratap Singh, NSUI's Yash Nandal and Ayush Mondal of the AISA.
The ABVP has fielded Mitravinda Karanwal as its candidate for the post of secretary. Karanwal, a third-year student of History (Hons) at Laxmibai College, is up against NSUI's Namrata Jeph Meena and SFI's Anamika K for the post. Anamika is currently pursuing a master's degree in Political Science.
For the joint secretary position, ABVP's Aman Kapasia, a graduate of Hindi (Hons) from PGDAV Evening College, will face off against NSUI's Lokesh Choudhary and SFI's Sneha Aggarwal.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has halted the counting of votes of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections till posters, hoardings and graffiti that have been put up are removed and public property is restored. The court passed the order on Thursday.
Currently, the RSS-affiliated ABVP holds most seats in the students body with the posts of president, vice president and secretary with them. The Congress's student wing NSUI holds the secretary's post.