The Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) managed to hold on to its fortress of DAV P G College as its candidate Rakesh Singh Negi defeated his National Student Union of India (NSUI) rival Mohan Bhandri by a thin margin of 39 votes for the post of President. With this victory the ABVP has taken its winning streak to ninth consecutive year in the college.
Prompted by thin margin of votes between the winning and losing candidates the NSUI leaders demanded a recounting of votes, the plea was, however, rejected by the Chief Election Officer (CEO) Ajay Saxena.
The counting began at 9 am amid tight security. The entire process of counting was spread over four rounds with the fifteen tables involved.
The counting of votes for different posts took place on different tables but cynosure of all eyes was the election for the post of President in which Rakesh Singh Negi secured 1497 votes while Mohan Bhandari finished close second by putting 1458 votes in his kitty.
Nintin Ramola was the third candidate in fray for the post of President but he managed only 354 votes.
In another important post of Secretary, Sachin Thapliyal of Aryan group romped home; he defeated his nearest rival Narendra Sharma of Satyam Shivam Group by a margin of 53 votes.
For the position of Vice President, independent candidate, Bhawna defeated Vandna Rawat by a huge margin of 881 votes. In the contest of Joint Secretary, Arti Pal scraped passed Archi Nautiyal by a margin of only five votes. Pal got 1147 votes while Nautiyal secured 1142 votes. Kanika Rawat secured 1036 votes to get elected for the post of Treasurer; she defeated Shweta Rawat who got 1031 votes. Guddi was elected on the post of University representative as she trampled her nearest rival, Nidhi Budakoti by a margin of 584 votes. Suraj Negi and Ankit Rai were elected to the posts of Student Representatives Science and Commerce respectively.
Shortly after announcement of results in a hall packed with police personnel, polling staff ,candidates and their agents the CEO Ajay Saxena administered oath to the newly elected panel of student’s union.
A beaming Rakesh Singh Negi after winning the coveted post of President said that the victory of ABVP in the college is a slap on the face of ruling Congress party of state. He said that he would fight for the thousands of students who are not able to get admissions in the colleges due to the restrictions imposed. The newly elected Secretary, Sachin Thapliyal said that his main focus would be to get changed the affiliation of the DAV College from HNB Garhwal central University to Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University. Shortly after receiving victory certificate, the Vice President elect Bhawana said that she would ensure that more toilets are constructed in the college campus for girl students. She said that increasing sanitation in the campus, better library and setting up an inquiry counter in the college are some other things on her itinerary.
The area around the DAV College was converted into a site of celebration after the declaration of results. The supporters of winning candidates threw colours over one another and danced to the beat of drums. The victory processions of the candidates were not allowed by the police personnel to go beyond Karanpur area.
