JNUSU Election 2018: Counting suspended temporarily after ABVP protest
Counting of votes for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) polls was suspended today morning after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members protested alleging they weren't informed about the process. The RSS-affiliated ABVP said their counting agent wasn't informed about the beginning of counting of votes polled in science schools. The JNU Election Committee said it suspended the counting temporarily. Here's more.
Left student unions allege ABVP created ruckus, snatched ballot boxes
JNU Election Commission didn't name the party which protested. Meanwhile, members of Left student unions alleged that ABVP created a ruckus, which was denied by ABVP. "The counting process, which began yesterday at 10pm has been suspended due to forcible entry into the counting venue and attempts to snatch away the sealed ballot boxes as well as ballot papers," according to the Left bloc.
Members, including women, intimidated; ABVP broke building glasses: Left bloc
The Left bloc also claimed that their members, including women, faced intimidation. "Around 4:00 am, ABVP broke the glasses of the School of International Studies building. EC stopped the counting indefinitely," they said, adding that the ABVP counting agent was called but he was late.
ABVP says counting agent wasn't called, they protested peacefully
ABVP, in its defense, said their counting agent wasn't called and the counting process was initiated in front of the Left outfit members. "We protested peacefully. EC is biased towards the Left," alleged Vijay Kumar, ABVP President, JNU. The voter turnout in the keenly contested JNUSU election yesterday was 67.8%, believed to be the highest in six years. Over 5,000 students cast their votes.
Who all are in the race?
The Left-backed All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Students' Federation (DSF), and All India Students' Federation (AISF) have come together to form the United-Left alliance. Besides the Left bloc, the other candidates in the fray are of the ABVP, NSUI (National Students' Union of India), and BAPSA (Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association).
DUSU polls also saw temporary stopping of vote counting
Technical glitches in EVMs had led to a ruckus during the counting process for Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) polls on Thursday, leading to suspension of counting for close to three hours. The counting had resumed only after parties reached a consensus.
