Over 36 pc voting in DUSU polls, turnout dips by 7 per cent

Over 36 per cent of students exercised their franchise today in the keenly contested Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) polls with the voting percentage recording a dip of over 7 per cent from last year's overall turnout of 43.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, the students council elections also took place in 44 colleges where Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) won the five-member panels in 33 colleges while the BJP's student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parsihad (ABVP) emerged victorious in 11 colleges.
While DUSU is the representative body of the students from most colleges and faculties of the varsity, colleges have their individual students' councils.

The Chief Election Officer for DUSU elections, D S Rawat, said the voting went off peacefully with 35.89 per cent of students casting their vote in the morning leg of polls.
"The polling which was conducted in two phases went off smoothly. The maximum turnout of 91 per cent was recorded at the Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and the minimum was in Campus Law Centre II at 6.79 per cent," he said.
"Minor technical glitches were reported in Aurobindo College in the morning phase but was rectified within a few minutes," he added.

The counting of votes will be taken up tomorrow after which the results will be declared.

"The university had deployed a team of observers who visited the 51 centres where the polling took place in teams of two to check violations of code of conduct.
"DU administration had also installed CCTV cameras, besides hiring commercial videographers, to record election activities to ensure free and fair polling," Rawat said.
According to a senior police official, the polling went off peacefully and no incidents of violence were reported.
"A huge contingent of police was deployed at various polling centres of the university to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.
"The movement of vehicles was also restricted on Chatra Marg in North Campus to avoid any chaos or discomfort to students. The polling was peaceful," the official added.

While four colleges didn't conduct their students' union polls, many students kept away from the DUSU central panel polls.