ABVP sweeps highstakes DU polls 31 Note ban, lynchings, arrests mark JNU pre-election debate
DUSU POLLS ABVP bags president, vicepresident, joint secy posts; NSUI wins secretary, alleges EVM tampering
NEW DELHI: The Rss-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) made a comeback in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections, winning three out of four posts on the panel, including those of the president, vice-president and joint secretary.
The Congress’ student wing NSUI had to settle only for the secretary’s post.
Last year, both the student groups had won two seats each.
Terming the victory as a prelude to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the victorious ABVP candidates began celebrating as soon as the results were announced. “The results indicate the electoral mood of the young voters. The youth is with the BJP,” said Ankiv Baisoya, the newly elected DUSU president.
The results, declared a day after polling on Wednesday, were marred by unusual delays and allegations and counter-allegations as members of all political student groups alleged ‘tampering’ of the electronic voting machines (EVMS).
The counting was halted three times and was finally suspended by the university’s election commission in the afternoon.
However, it resumed around 5:30pm after all the candidates reached an agreement.
The new panel comprises ABVP’S Baisoya, Shakti Singh and Jyoti Chaudhary, as president and vice-president and joint secretary, respectively, and the NSUI’S Aakash Chaudhary as secretary.
The NSUI had won the top two positions last year.
The newly-formed alliance of the Left-backed AISA and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) youth wing CYSS could not win on any positions. The CYSS this year was contesting students elections after a gap of two years. “We have got around 8,000 votes. We demand a high-level judicial enquiry in the poll mismanagement and EVM,” said AISA DU president Kawalpreet Kaur.
In a statement, CYSS said that they are encouraged to have won several positions in college panels.
The winning margins of Baisoya and Singh were 2,000 and 8,000 votes in this year’s elections that had recorded a 44.5% turnout, highest in the last 11 years. Out of around 60,000 votes, 27,739 opted for NOTA (None of The Above).
The NSUI, however, alleged that EVMS were ‘tampered’ with the election officers at the behest of the ABVP. “We have come to know that the data of seven EVMS is missing. We will raise this issue with the administration on Friday,” Chaudhary said.
The NSUI will hold a press conference on Friday where Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken will address the issue.
The DU election committee, however, said that they carried out a “free and fair” election and asked the NSUI members to check the EVMS. “Though there was a glitch in one EVM, but the committee has maintained high standard of discipline and conducted free and fair election,” said DU chief election officer VK Kaul.
“The EVMS in question is not of the Election Commission as no such machines had been allotted or issued to DU… It seems that DU has procured these machines privately. A detailed report in this regard will be sent subsequently,” said Manoj Kumar, chief election officer (EVM).
WEDNESDAY’S DEBATE SAW NATIONALLEVEL ISSUES — LIKE CASES OF MOB LYNCHING, DEMONETISATION, ANTINATIONAL FORCES AND THE RECENT ARRESTS OF ACTIVISTS — BEING RAISED BY CANDIDATES
Colleges and departments affiliated with DUSU
Voter turnout this year—44.5 %, highest in the last 11 years NEW DELHI: Amid cheers and slogans, eight presidential candidates for this year’s Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) elections took to the stage late on Wednesday night to woo voters for one last time before the code of conduct comes into force.
The debate this year was more intense as the JNU students poll comes right before the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Wednesday’s debate saw national-level issues — cases of mob lynching, demonetisation, anti-national forces and the recent arrests of activists — being raised by the candidates instead of local campus related concerns.
By 9:30pm, the entire stretch to Jhelum lawns from Ganga dhabha was flooded with students crowding around to hear what the presidential candidates had to promise. Amid the sound of loud tambourines and roaring slogans like “Jai bheem” and “laal salaam”, conch shells were blown every time a candidate delivered a good one-liner.
Eight candidates are competing for the top post of the students’ union this year, for which polls will be held on Friday.
However, the manner in which the candidates of Left unity— AISA, AISF, DSF and Sfi—and Rss-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidhayarthi Parishad (ABVP) stirred the crowd made it very apparent that the battle this year will primarily between the two.
In their speeches, while ABVP’S candidate Lalit Pandey alleged that “anti-national” elements present at the campus was trying to suppress ‘freedom of speech’, united-left’s candidate N Sai Balaji attacked the Centre for turning India into ‘lynchistan’.
“They talk about freedom of speech and expression. They are trying to suppress the voice of sanity on the campus. We will take care of all these anti-national forces if we get elected in the JNUSU,” Pandey said. The ABVP had stood second in all four central panel posts — president, vicepresident, general secretary and joint secretary —last year.
Referring to “Bhima Koregaon” incident, Balaji said, “The government is trying to intimidate all the voices of dissent. But, they will not be able to show their face anywhere after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The public will reject them and reclaim our lost space for dissent.”
Meanwhile, Thallapelli Praveen, candidate of Birsa Ambedkar Phule Student Association, which has emerged as a strong opposition in last three years, asked student to think beyond the politics of Left and Right.
A first time contender from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Jayant Kumar, promised to make higher education assessable for those coming from the marginalised section of society.
Four independent candidates are also contesting for the top post.