ABVP sweeps University of Hyderabad Students Union election after eight years
Aarti Nagpal voted president
HYDERABAD, Oct 06: After a gap of eight long years, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) tasted electoral success in the 2018-19 University of Hyderabad Students Union (UoH SU) elections, results of which were declared on Saturday.
The ABVP, that was in power last time in 2009-10, swept all five key posts of UoH SU. The election results also saw for the second time in university's history, a woman become the President of Students Union, after 2013.
Aarti Nagpal, a PhD Psychology student grabbed the post of UoH SU president by a good margin of 334 votes over her nearest rival, Erram Naveen Kumar of the SFI.
The posts of Vice President, General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Sports Secretary and Cultural Secretary were grabbed by Amit Kumar, Dheeraj Sangoji, Praveen Chouhan, Aravind S Kumar and Nikhil Raj K.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed ABVP coming to power in UoH SU elections after eight years, marks a drastic shift in the ideological orientation of the UoH SU, that has been dominated since last eight years by either Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed Students Federation of India (SFI) or the Ambedkarite students groups led by the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) or an alliance of both these organizations.
ABVP’s Aarti Nagpal becomes President of HCU Students’ Union.
Congratulations team #ABVPHCU! pic.twitter.com/A82kOYuWtX
— Ashish Chauhan (@AshishSainram) October 6, 2018
This is the second major victory for ABVP, that had recently won Students Union elections in Delhi University but saw a loss in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where an alliance of left-wing student organizations came to power.
ABVP contested election along with two alliance partners - OBC Federation and Sevalal Vidyarthi Dal, whereas SFI went alone and ASA had contested in alliance with six other student organizations.
Both the SFI and United Democratic Alliance(UDA), the ASA-led alliance, had based their election campaign on the premise that with Bharatiya Janata Party in power at the centre, if the ABVP comes to power they will not oppose policies by central government if they are harmful for the students, as both BJP and ABVP are backed by RSS. The SFI and UDA won 1,349 and 842 votes respectively.
The ABVP based its campaign mostly on issues based on campus related problems, mainly of poor food quality in the hostel mess, poor sanitation in hostels and improving gender-sensitivity in the campus.
With the ABVP coming to power, groups of students from the university started on Facebook started bursting with messages mocking mainly the left wing SFI and comparing the win of ABVP as the end of Communism on campus.
For President:
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Aarti Nagpal (ABVP-OBCF-SVD) - 1,663 votes
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Erram Naveen Kumar (SFI) - 1,329 votes
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G Sreeja Vasthavi (ASA-NSUI-TSF-BSF-DSU-MSF-SIO) - 842 votes
Courtesy: www.newindianexpress.com
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
