New Delhi: Counting of votes for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) polls was suspended early morning on Saturday after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members protested, alleging they were not informed about the process.
The ABVP said their counting agent was not informed about the beginning of counting of votes polled in science schools.
In a statement, the JNU Election Committee said it suspended the counting temporarily but refused to name the party which protested. “JNUSU EC 2018-19 hereby brings to the immediate notice of media friends that during the counting process, which had began yesterday (14th September 2018) at 10 pm has been suspended due to forcibly entering into the counting venue and attempt to snatch away the sealed ballot boxes as well as ballot papers from our counting centres. This was in addition to intimidation and violence on our Election Committee, including on our female members led by a Presidential and a Joint Secretary candidate,” the statement said.
Members of Left student unions alleged that the ABVP created a ruckus and vandalised. The ABVP denied the allegation.
“The counting process, which began on September 14 at 10 pm 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 from our counting centres,” according to the Left bloc.
They also claimed that their members, including women, faced intimidation. The Left bloc claimed, “Around 4:00 am, ABVP broke the glasses of the School of International Studies building. EC stopped the counting indefinitely.”
They also claimed the ABVP counting agent was called but he did not turn up on time. Vijay Kumar, ABVP president of JNU, said their counting agent was not called and the counting process was initiated in front of the members of the Left outfit.
“We protested peacefully as the EC is biased towards the Left. We did not create any ruckus,” he said.
In a collective statement, representatives from a number of other parties including the Left bloc, NSUI, BAPSA and others have demanded that “the ABVP members- Saurabh Sharma, Raghavendra Mishra, Akhilesh Pathak and others vacate the counting venue immediately to allow the election process to continue”.
“The ABVP’s acts constitute a serious violation of the election process. The ABVP by indulging in violence has not only disrupted the counting process but also sought to undermine the sanctity of the student EC whose decision is abided by all organisations,” the joint statement says.
The voter turnout in the keenly contested Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) election on Friday was 67.8%, believed to be the highest in six years. Over 5,000 students cast their votes.
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, there are candidates of ABVP, NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) and BAPSA (Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association).
Technical glitches in EVMs had led to a ruckus during the counting process for Delhi University Students’ Union polls on Thursday, leading to suspension of counting for close to three hours. The counting had resumed only after parties reached a consensus.
(With PTI inputs)