DU, JNU poll peaceful, results today

[1]

Students of Delhi University and JNU cast votes for students’ union elections on Friday as a high turnout was recorded on a rainy day. The election results will be declared on Saturday.

About 40 per cent of the regular student strength turned up for voting for Dusu election unlike last year when only 29 per cent students had turned up for voting. As the voting opened at 8.30 am, only die-hard supporters could be seen at polling stations. However, voting picked up as the day progressed and rains relented.
Janak, a DU student, said, “Responsibility starts here. I have to project myself as a responsible citizen who asserts his rights and makes optimum use of it.”
Students who did not cast vote cited various reasons for their decision. DU student Rashmi said that students are disappointed with the mainstream politics of the country and have hence lost interest in casting vote.
Geetika Ahuja said, “Every year the candidates promise women greater safety and protection against eve teasing, which never happens and the same promise appears on the manifestos next year.”
The morning colleges witnessed a better turnout as always.
“The polling was largely peaceful and went on smoothly. Taking both the morning and evening percentages into account, we are expecting a figure of 35 to 40 per cent,” said Prof. C.S. Dubey, the chief election officer.
The counting will begin at 9 am on Saturday and the results will be declared at 1 pm.
The electoral fates of 38 candidates contesting Dusu elections were sealed on Friday as polling ended peacefully.
As many as 984 EVMs were installed at 50 polling centres in DU, said a senior police official.
“The turnout was good and we believe this augurs well for us,” said ABVP state president Rohit Chahal. The ABVP had bagged three of the four key posts last year.
Meanwhile, students cast their votes to decide the fate of 30 candidates in fray for students’ union elections in JNU, which saw a second election in the year.
The university had conducted its first election after four years in March this year.
Polling was held peacefully in JNU even as an anti-Lyngdoh Committee recommendations group, Students For Resistance (SFR), had given a call to boycott the elections.
Abhishek Yadav, who was elected the vice-president in the March election, said: “Due to the gap of four years, there has been depoliticisation on the campus. We are trying to revive the old spirit of debate and sensitisation on various issues.”
“In JNU, elections are never fought just on campus issues. National as well as international issues figure here,” said Yadav, a member of All India Students’ Association (AISA).
The AISA had swept the last polls in JNU, winning all the four key posts.