NEW DELHI: Close to one lakh Delhi University students will vote to choose their union on Friday after a three-year break that started because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
The election is returning to the campus after 2019 with intense campaigns by students’ organisations. As the university prepared for the election, on Thursday the varsity became a fortress with heavy security. DU officials held meetings with the candidates and Delhi Police.
As the model code of conduct is in place, posters and hoardings put up by the candidates were removed.
The DUSU election will be conducted through electronic voting machines (EVM). College union elections, which will be held parallelly on Friday, will be on ballot paper.
In all, 23 candidates are in the fray for the post of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary. Eleven are women.
DUSU has usually seen battles between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student union of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and National Student Union of India (NSUI), the student front of the Congress. In the fray are also Leftist student organisations such as All India Students Association (AISA) and Student Federation of India (SFI).
In 2019, ABVP won three seats and the joint secretary post went to NSUI.
The university has held training sessions for teachers and other staff from colleges with the help of executives from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) for these polls.
Chandra Shekhar, DUSU chief electoral officer, told TOI: “Five to six staff members from each college were trained. The EVMs were delivered to colleges under the supervision of a police official. There have been cases of malfunction of machines in the past, but I urge students to vote in a democratic manner.”
Shekhar highlighted that the 52 colleges and departments will be responsible for the security of the EVMs when in their custody.
“To ensure that DUSU votes are cast first, the EVMs should be placed prior to paper ballot boxes for the college election. After voting, the EVMs will be sealed in boxes in the presence of student representatives and the election officer and sent to the multipurpose hall of the university stadium,” he said.
Polling will be between 8.30am and 1pm for day classes and from 3pm-7.30pm for evening classes.
Counting will be at the conference centre on September 23.
The election is returning to the campus after 2019 with intense campaigns by students’ organisations. As the university prepared for the election, on Thursday the varsity became a fortress with heavy security. DU officials held meetings with the candidates and Delhi Police.
As the model code of conduct is in place, posters and hoardings put up by the candidates were removed.
The DUSU election will be conducted through electronic voting machines (EVM). College union elections, which will be held parallelly on Friday, will be on ballot paper.
In all, 23 candidates are in the fray for the post of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary. Eleven are women.
DUSU has usually seen battles between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student union of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and National Student Union of India (NSUI), the student front of the Congress. In the fray are also Leftist student organisations such as All India Students Association (AISA) and Student Federation of India (SFI).
In 2019, ABVP won three seats and the joint secretary post went to NSUI.
The university has held training sessions for teachers and other staff from colleges with the help of executives from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) for these polls.
Chandra Shekhar, DUSU chief electoral officer, told TOI: “Five to six staff members from each college were trained. The EVMs were delivered to colleges under the supervision of a police official. There have been cases of malfunction of machines in the past, but I urge students to vote in a democratic manner.”
Shekhar highlighted that the 52 colleges and departments will be responsible for the security of the EVMs when in their custody.
“To ensure that DUSU votes are cast first, the EVMs should be placed prior to paper ballot boxes for the college election. After voting, the EVMs will be sealed in boxes in the presence of student representatives and the election officer and sent to the multipurpose hall of the university stadium,” he said.
Polling will be between 8.30am and 1pm for day classes and from 3pm-7.30pm for evening classes.
Counting will be at the conference centre on September 23.
