The Hindu : New Delhi News : Last-minute change in DUSU election schedule

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Saturday, Aug 23, 2008
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Last-minute change in DUSU election schedule

Staff Reporter

Last date for receipt of nomination papers extended

- Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

All smiles: Anupriya Yadav (left) and Nupur Sharma of ABVP along with their supporters during filing of their nomination papers on Friday for the forthcoming Delhi University Students’ Union elections.

NEW DELHI: On what was to be the last date for receipt of nomination papers of candidates contesting the Delhi University Students’ Union polls this year, the authorities on Friday announced some change in the election schedule.

The last date for receipt of nomination papers has been changed from August 22 to 25. The scrutiny of the papers will be done the same day.

The duly nominated candidates will submit a bank draft as security deposit by August 26 instead of August 23.

Similarly, the last date for withdrawal of nominations and publication of the final list of candidates has been fixed for August 27, pushing it from August 25.

Resultantly, the student outfits will be left with lesser time for campaigning, but the authorities have an explanation for it.

Chief Election Officer Gurmeet Singh said: “Certain examination results came very late. The result for B.A. (Programme) and B.Com. (Prog.) were declared only on August 20. A large number of students are enrolled in these two courses. As the results came late, the students did not have enough time to seek re-admission to the next year.” “We had to extend the dates or otherwise a lot of students would have been denied their right to vote. We have done this well within our guidelines. There has been no violation of any kind,” asserted Prof. Singh.

Not willing to accept this justification, some student organisations have been crying foul. “The exam results have always been declared late but the election schedule has never been changed. If the University authorities were so concerned about the voting rights of the students, they should have ensured that all the results were announced well in time before coming out with the election schedule,” said Niharika Sharma, Delhi State secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

“This has been done only to benefit the National Students’ Union of India, which we believe has not been able to decide on its candidates to contest the DUSU polls. So, some more time is being given to them,” she alleged.

Though NSUI activist and outgoing DUSU president Amrita Bahri rued that there would not be enough time for campaigning, she sounded confident of pulling it off in the given time period.

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