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

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Over 36 per cent of studentsexercised their franchise today in the keenly contested DelhiUniversity Students’ Union (DUSU) polls with the votingpercentage recording a dip of over 7 per cent from last year’soverall turnout of 43.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the students council elections also took placein 44 colleges where Congress-affiliated National StudentsUnion of India (NSUI) won the five-member panels in 33colleges while the BJP’s student wing Akhil Bhartiya VidyarthiParsihad (ABVP) emerged victorious in 11 colleges. While DUSU is the representative body of the studentsfrom most colleges and faculties of the varsity, colleges havetheir individual students’ councils. The Chief Election Officer for DUSU elections, D S Rawat,said the voting went off peacefully with 35.89 per cent ofstudents casting their vote in the morning leg of polls. "The polling which was conducted in two phases went offsmoothly. The maximum turnout of 91 per cent was recorded atthe Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and the minimum was inCampus Law Centre II at 6.79 per cent," he said. "Minor technical glitches were reported in AurobindoCollege in the morning phase but was rectified within a fewminutes," he added. The counting of votes will be taken up tomorrow afterwhich the results will be declared. "The university had deployed a team of observers whovisited the 51 centres where the polling took place in teamsof two to check violations of code of conduct. "DU administration had also installed CCTV cameras,besides hiring commercial videographers, to record electionactivities to ensure free and fair polling," Rawat said. According to a senior police official, the polling wentoff peacefully and no incidents of violence were reported. "A huge contingent of police was deployed at variouspolling centres of the university to ensure that no untowardincident takes place. "The movement of vehicles was also restricted on ChatraMarg in North Campus to avoid any chaos or discomfort tostudents. The polling was peaceful," the official added. While four colleges didn’t conduct their students’ unionpolls, many students kept away from the DUSU central panelpolls. (MORE) PTI GJS SMNSMN