Counting for DUSU Polls on 13 Sept, NSUI Blames ABVP for Attack

ABVP candidates release their election manifesto for election to Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) on 7 September.

(Photo: IANS)

Counting for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) polls will be held on 13 September, a day after the elections are held, officials said on Monday, 9 September.

Twelve candidates are in the fray for posts of president, vice president, general secretary and joint secretary in the students' union.

The Community Hall at Police Lines in northwest Delhi's Kingsway Camp will be the counting centre for the polls, according to a notification issued on Sunday.

The RSS-affiliated ABVP has fielded Akshit Dahiya for the post of DUSU president, Pradeep Tanwar for the vice president’s post, Yogit Rathee for the general secretary’s post and Shivangi Kherwal for the post of joint secretary.

The Congress-backed NSUI has pitted Chetna Tyagi against Dahiya. Left-backed All India Students’ Association (AISA) has fielded Damini Kain for the post of president.

The NSUI has fielded Ankit Bharti for the vice president’s post, Ashish Lamba for the secretary’s post and Abhishek Chaprana for the post of joint secretary.

Last year, counting was suspended over allegations of faulty electronic voting machines and resumed after several hours.

The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad had won on three posts, while the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India had won on one post in last year’s polls, which recorded a 44.46 percent voter turnout.

NSUI Accuses 'Anti-Dalit' ABVP of Attacking Its VP Candidate

Meanwhile, ahead of the polls on 12 September, the NSUI on Monday alleged that members of the ABVP attacked its vice presidential candidate, a charge denied by the RSS-affiliated outfit.

NSUI President Neeraj Kundan said the ABVP roughed up Ankit Bharti because he belongs to the Dalit community. "It shows the ABVP's anti-Dalit mentality." The ABVP, however, claimed Bharti was injured in a fight with his own outfit's candidate for the post of secretary and said it will file a defamation case.

The NSUI said the alleged attack by the "goons of ABVP" happened when Bharti had gone to campaign at the College of Vocational Studies.

"He was surrounded by ABVP goons and beaten up with sticks. He was hit on the head. He was taken to RML Hospital for treatment where he received stitches on his head," said a functionary of the NSUI.