Voting in DU, JNU student union elections on Friday

The students of Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will cast their vote on Friday to elect their students representatives.

The students of Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will cast their vote on Friday to elect their students representatives.

The students of Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will cast their vote on Friday to elect their students representatives. (Hindustan Times)

Approximately 1,23,241 voters will be voting in 51 colleges to select the president, vice-president, secretary and general secretary of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU).

In JNU, approximately 9,000 students will be voting to select the president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary of their union.

The DU elections are conducted by the university authorities, but the JNU polls are managed by the students. While both the universities will go to polls on Friday, the results will be declared on Saturday for DU and on Monday for JNU.

In DU, it is a three-way fight between the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, and the All India Students Association (AISA), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML).

For the past three years, ABVP has been winning the DUSU polls, so this time their slogan is ‘ABVP Once More’. NSUI and AISA are going with ‘Vote for Change’.

The JNU elections will be closely watched this year as the university was rocked by protests early this year that snowballed into a political firestorm after some student leaders, including JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, were arrested on charges of sedition.

Kumar’s All India Students’ Federation (AISF) may have decided to sit out the JNU students’ union (JNUSU) elections but they are giving outside support to the alliance between All India Students’ Association (AISA) Students Federation of India (SFI). The alliance of the left has been formed to avert ABVP from winning a seat. Last year, ABVP had won a joint secretary position in JNUSU.

Read: When ‘Jio Modi’, Kabali and Gabbar lit up the JNU students’ election campaign

At JNU, the candidates not only campaign but also have to debate. On late Wednesday night, the presidential debate was held in which all presidential candidates laid out their election agenda.

Students say that a lot depends on what the candidate speaks during the debate and a question answer session is followed by the debate. “Last year Kanhaiya Kumar was relatively unknown but his speech in the presidential debate was so good that he became an overnight favorite of many,” said a student.

Wednesday’s debate saw the candidates raising issue of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s alleged suicide, sedition row, nationalism and BR Ambedkar’s vision.

In DU, the organisations fight elections on students’ issues like hostel accommodation, university special bus services and students’ safety.

JNU election: Dates to remember

Polling: September 9

Counting of votes: September 9-12

Results: September 12

Main parties in election fray: Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), alliance of All India Students Association (AISA)-Students Federation of India (SFI), National Students Association of India (NSUI) and Students Front for Swaraj (SFS), Democratic Students Federation (DSF).

Total voters: 9,000 approximately

DU election: Dates to remember

Voting: September 9

Results (expected): September 10

Main parties in election fray: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), All India Students Association (AISA) and National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Total voters: 1,23,241 approximately