Counting of votes in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) polls was suspended on Saturday by election authorities citing “forcible entry” and “attempts to snatch away ballot boxes” at a counting venue, after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged protests claiming it was not informed about the start of the process.
The ABVP said its counting agent was not informed about the beginning of counting of votes polled in School of Social Sciences. In a statement, the JNU Election Committee said it suspended the counting temporarily but refused to name the party which protested. Counting was suspended for over 14 hours, said sources.
The JNU Election Committee said, “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.” The deadlock at the JNU persisted for hours with the ABVP accusing the election authorities of bias towards the Left outfits and threatening to move court.
However, counting resumed later in the evening and results of JNUSU polls are likely to be announced on Sunday morning.