The polling to elect the students’ union in DAV (PG) College passed off peacefully, barring minor scuffles among the students supporting rival groups, on Friday.
There were 19 polling booths. The college election media in-charge Prashant Singh said that 4376 out of 8414 voters had turned out to vote. College principal Rakesh Kumar Verma said that polling in the college was peaceful. The election area was divided into four zones, he added.
The candidates and their supporters were found approaching the voters when the election was on, outside the college campus, seeking their votes.
While the college election officer deputed its staff at the polling booths the administration made elaborate arrangements inside and outside the college campus to ensure trouble-free polling.
SSP Dr Sadanand Date and SP City Ajay Singh went to the college to monitor security in the college campus. Date also visited the polling booths and overviewed polling process. He also checked the college identity cards of the students found waiting their turn to vote.
However, minor scuffles occurred among the members of the rival groups. Things turned normal after police intervened and dispersed the crowd.
The polling started at 9 am on a slow note. However, the polling turned brisk around 11.30 am when a large number of voters turned up. long queues of voters were witnessed outside the polling booths.
Excitement was palpable among the freashers. They said they were excited casting votes in the union election for the first time. A BA (first year) student Urmila said, “I am very excited while exercising my vote for the first time. I am feeling important.”
Members of various students’ groups were found motivating the voters in several ways during the polling.
It is learnt that around 50 per cent of the voters cast their votes. In all, 39 candidates were in the fray for different posts of the union.
Police had made barricades at various places in the election area on Karanpur Road and DAV (PG) College Road. Adequate police forces were deployed too. Some students were found distributing pamphlets among the students passing through the road.
Observers said that the candidates and those supporting them had defied the lyngdoh Committee Recommendations with impunity with the college election officers choosing to look the other way.