JNUSU election records 67.8% polling, results expected today

NEWDELHI: Students voted in large numbers on Friday to take the polling percentage in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union elections to 67.8%, a sharp jump over last year’s 58.7%.

As polling began at 9:30 am, supporters of all political groups were spotted shouting slogans and dancing to beats of tambourine outside the polling booths.

In the first half of the day, polling was slow but gained momentum in the second leg of the election. Many voters said they chose candidates based on their party affiliations, political ideology and their agenda.

According to data provided by the university’s election committee, 67.8% of the 7,644 registered students cast their votes. The highest turnout of 69.6 % was recorded at the School of Language, which is believed to be a stronghold of the Rss-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) .

Officials attributed the high polling to the huge turnout of first-time voters. “A large number of first-year students cast their votes this time compared to the past few years,” said a official.

The JNU follows the paper ballot mode in the elections that took place in two shifts— 9:30 am to 1pm and 2pm to 5:30pm.

Competition is expected to be tough between united Left front – consisting of the All India Students Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Students Federation (DSF) and All India Students Federation (AISF) – and the ABVP.

The left unity, which had swept all the four panel posts last year, is positive about retaining its ground. “We are winning all four posts with even larger margins this time,” said their presidential candidate N Sai Balaji.

But the ABVP, which made a comeback in DUSU polls on Thursday, said the youth is with them.