Voting for DU Students Union elections begins
New Delhi (PTI): Voting for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections began on Friday here at the north and south campuses of the university.
Students from different DU colleges are casting their votes to elect new representatives for the central panel positions of president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary.
Around 1.40 lakh students are eligible to cast their votes.
Voting will take place in two phases -- students from morning colleges will cast their vote till 1 pm and those from evening colleges from 3 pm till 7.30 pm.
A total of 21 candidates are vying for the positions with eight candidates contesting for the post of president, five for vice-president, and four each for the posts of joint secretary and secretary.
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI), and the left-wing alliance of the All India Students' Association (AISA) and Students' Federation of India (SFI) are the key players this year.
The battle for the post of president is expected to be a tight race between ABVP's Rishabh Chaudhary, NSUI's Rounak Khatri and AISA's Saavy Gupta.
Rishabh Chaudhary, who hails from from Ganaur, Sonipat, is a graduate of Shyam Lal College and is currently a student in the Department of Buddhist Studies. Saavy Gupta contesting as an AISA candidate is a third-year law student at Law Centre-2.
The vice president post is a contest between ABVP's Bhanu Pratap Singh, NSUI's Yash Nandal and Ayush Mondal of the AISA.
The ABVP has fielded Mitravinda Karanwal as its candidate for the post of secretary. Karanwal, a third-year student of History (Hons) at Laxmibai College, is up against NSUI's Namrata Jeph Meena and SFI's Anamika K for the post. Anamika is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science.
For the joint secretary position, ABVP's Aman Kapasia, a graduate of Hindi (Hons) from PGDAV Evening College, will face off against NSUI's Lokesh Choudhary and SFI's Sneha Aggarwal.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has halted the counting of votes of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections till posters, hoardings and graffiti that have been put up are removed and public property is restored. The court passed the order on Thursday.
Currently, the RSS-affiliated ABVP holds most seats in the students body with the posts of president, vice president and secretary with them. The Congress's student wing NSUI holds the secretary's post.
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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.
