DU student union election: Voting percentage spikes, on-campus colleges take the lead

The voter turnout was especially healthy in on-campus colleges. Hindu College recorded the highest turnout at 65%, while the lowest, 14%, was recorded at Aryabhatta College in south campus.

The students of the college, in a referendum, had decided that they will not participate in DUSU polls. In the college panel voting, the two student organisations, the ABVP and NSUI, were locked in a close battle.  NSUI, the student wing of the Congress, claimed they had won in 18 of 32 colleges — a claim refuted by the ABVP, the student wing of the RSS.

Incidentally, ABVP lost the post of the president at Ramjas College. According to students, this could have happened due to violence in the college earlier this year over a literary event where JNU student Umar Khalid was invited to talk. “It was the college where ABVP president had raised objection to the event, following which there was violence on campus. Maybe that’s why students voted this way,” said a third-year student.

At Zakir Hussain College, a visually impaired student was elected to the college panel. Murari Bhagat, a third-year student of Hindi (Hons), won the post of joint secretary. Bhagat fought the election from the ABVP and got 671 votes. He said he wanted students with disabilities to get the best facilities.

“Our education was getting affected due to lack of opportunity. So I thought that to get opportunities, one has to come to the forefront and fight,” said Bhagat. Meanwhile, the university has been given permission by the Delhi High Court to count and declare the results on Wednesday.

The university had moved the court against its September 8 order on a petition by NSUI presidential candidate Rocky Tuseed, who wanted counting to be delayed. However, the High Court  order added, “The poll outcome will be subject to its final decision in the pending petition.”