DUSU polls conclude with low turnout; HC halts counting over defacement

VOTES TO BE COUNTED AFTER OCT 21

- SURUCHI KUMARI

On Friday, voting for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections took place across 52 colleges and faculties, with a relatively low voter turnout reported. As of 5:45 pm, out of approximately 1.40 lakh eligible voters, only 43,451 votes were cast, marking a turnout of 29.7 per cent. This marks a considerable drop from last year's 42 per cent turnout and is notably lower than the 44.46 per cent turnout in 2018, which was the highest in over a decade. During Phase 1, different colleges reported voter turnout of as low as 15 per cent to as high as 84 per cent.

This year's race saw an interesting development with the first-ever alliance between the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA). Despite their efforts, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which has held a strong grip on DUSU for the past decade, remained the dominant force. In last year's elections, after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the ABVP won three major posts, including president, while the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, managed to secure the position of vice president.