DUSU Polls: ABVP Wins 3 Seats, NSUI Clinches Secy Post Alone

Catch all the updates on the Delhi University Students’ Union election here.

The Quint
Education
Updated:
ABVP candidates Akshit Dahiya, Pradeep Tanwar and Shivangi Kharwal celebrate after winning the DUSU elections.
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ABVP candidates Akshit Dahiya, Pradeep Tanwar and Shivangi Kharwal celebrate after winning the DUSU elections.
(Photo: PTI)

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The RSS-affiliated ABVP on Friday won three posts, including that of the president, in Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls while the Congress-backed NSUI bagged the secretary's post.

Akshit Dahiya of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) defeated National Students Union of India (NSUI)'s Chetna Tyagi for the top post by a margin of over 19,000 votes.

  • The posts of VP and JS were won by ABVP’s Pradeep Tanwar and Shivangi Kharwal by a margin of 8,574 and 2,914 votes respectively
  • “This victory is proof of the unflinching belief in nationalism of our youth,” Home Minister Amit Shah said
  • 39.90 percent students cast their votes in the polls
  • The RSS-affiliated ABVP candidates won three posts last year, while Congress-backed NSUI bagged one post

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The Three-Cornered Fight Between ABVP, NSUI and AISA

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.

Delhi HC Seeks Varsity's Reply on SFI Members' Plea on Nomination Papers

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 11 September sought response of the Delhi University on a plea filed by three students, affiliated to Students' Federation of India (SFI), alleging that they were illegally restrained from filing their nominations for elections, PTI reported.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva issued notices to Delhi University, its Chief Election Officer (CEO) and Station House Officer of Maurice Nagar police station on the petition and listed it for hearing on 17 October .

The court said the elections will be subject to the outcome of the petition.

The petition filed by DU students Ravi Kumar Chauhan, Noel Benny and Parmanand Sharma alleged that on 4 September, they were on their way to submit their nomination papers when they were allegedly prevented by suspected members of ABVP.

Voting for DUSU Begins; Cong-NSUI Candidate 'Illegally Detained'

Polling for four positions of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) is underway at 52 polling centres today, with 16 candidates in the fray and over 1.3 lakh students eligible to cast their votes, reported PTI.

The polling began at 9.30 am.

Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India claimed its joint secretary candidate Abhishek Chaprana was denied entry to polling booths in Dayal Singh College in south Delhi. The student outfit claimed Chaprana was illegally detained.

However, police said he was canvassing for votes outside the college, which is not allowed.

Candidates Make Promises Which Are out of Their Authority: DU Student

“Most of the promises they make are out of their domain. But they're lucrative so they attract people. The naive ones think the candidates will fulfill their promises, but they can't if it is not a part of their authority,” said Ashutosh Srivastava, a DU student.

He added, “Another problem is the relationship between the union and the administration. There is mostly a lack of collaboration between them. All of them, be it the teachers or the students have their own political affiliation which leads to a tussle.”

Talking about the influence of money power in these elections, he said, “Initially who promote their party the most, get the seats or candidature.”

He also said that there should be some electoral reforms in selecting the candidates. “Only the good students should be selected, not necessarily the toppers, but the sincere and regular ones.”

Security Beefed Up in the Campus Amid Voting

NSUI Alleges Restriction of Entry into Booths, EVM Tampering

Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India claimed that its joint secretary candidate Abhishek Chaprana was denied entry to polling booths in Dayal Singh College in South Delhi.

The student outfit claimed Chaprana was illegally detained.

North campus recorded 38 percent voter turnout across 17 booths.

Police said Chaprana was canvassing for votes outside the college, which is not allowed. When he was asked not to canvass, he “misbehaved” with policemen and had to be detained, they said.

The outfit also alleged malfunctioning of EVM at a college. Ruchi Gupta, NSUI national in-charge took to Twitter to complain about the same.

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39.69% Voter Turnout Recorded Across 43 Morning Colleges

The voter turnout across 43 morning colleges was recorded at 39.69 percent, almost four notches down from last year's figure of 43.8 percent, according to PTI.

Some student leaders attributed the low turnout to the holidays, while some teachers felt that students have developed a disenchantment with politics.

Sri Aurobindo College recorded a turnout of 33.14 percent while Ramanujan College recorded a turnout of around 34 percent. Shivaji College saw a voter turnout of 40.93 percent while Shyama Prasad Mukherjee college recorded a turnout of 29 percent, one of the lowest among colleges.

Miranda House saw a turnout of 64 percent while Hindu College recorded a turnout around 59.6 percent, which was higher than last year's turnout.

39.90% Voter Turnout in DUSU Polls

The voter turnout in Delhi University Students' Union polls on Thursday was recorded at 39.90 percent, over four notches down from the last year.

The results will be declared today. Last year, the election saw a 44.46 percent voter turnout. The polling for four positions of (DUSU) ended amid allegations of EVM malfunctioning, reported PTI.

Initial Trends Show ABVP Leading on All 4 Seats

As per the initial trends, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is leading on all 4 seats in the DUSU elections, reported ANI.

The only close contest that can be seen is for the general secretary post.

Tight Security, Thin Crowd as Counting Takes Place

'Huge Gap From NSUI Between Pres, Vice-Pres Post': ABVP Spokesperson

ABVP Spokesperson Monika Choudhary on the intitial trends said, “Voting machines of 10 rounds have been counted. Nearly 45 EVM's were opened which show that the ABVP is leading with a substantial number. There is a huge gap from the NSUI between the president and vice-president post.”

Talking about the last DUSU president, Ankiv Baisoya who stepped down amid rumours of submitting “fake” certificates, she said, “ABVP gets votes from the people because we maintain our visibility among the students. On the Ankiv Baisoya row, there was no fault from the ABVP's side. The moment we became aware that about the controversy, we took an official stand thereafter which he was suspended.”

She further said, “Everybody makes mistakes, what matters is how you acknowledge them and this makes us a unique organisation.”

ABVP Bags 3 Posts Including President's, Cong-Backed NSUI Gets 1

The RSS-affiliated ABVP on Friday won three posts, including that of the president, in Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls while the Congress-backed NSUI bagged the secretary's post.

Akshit Dahiya of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) defeated National Students Union of India (NSUI)'s Chetna Tyagi for the top post by a margin of over 19,000 votes.

The posts of vice president and joint secretary were won by ABVP's Pradeep Tanwar and Shivangi Kharwal by a margin of 8,574 and 2,914 votes respectively.

NSUI bagged the secretary's post with its candidate Ashish Lamba defeating ABVP's Yogi Rathee by a margin of 2,053 votes.

'Victory Proof of Unflinching Belief in Nationalism of Our Youth': Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the ABVP for bagging three out of four posts in the DUSU elections.

"I congratulate all workers of ABVP for the grand victory in Delhi University Students’ Union elections. This victory is not only proof of the unflinching belief in nationalism of our youth but also a proof of how committed new India is towards nation-building," he wrote in tweet in Hindi.

Published: 11 Sep 2019,09:26 PM IST

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