Around 28 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the students' union election of DAV (PG) College on Thursday.
The polling was delayed by an hour as college staff failed to reach the college on time. Amid tight security, the polling in the college went off peacefully. The counting of votes will begin from 9 am on Friday. A total of 28 candidates are contesting for different posts in the students' union election here. The polling began at 10 am at a slow pace, but with the passage of time, voters started reaching the college for exercising their franchise.
Students formed long queues to vote at different polling booths while police managed the crowd outside the polling booth in the campus. Despite hot and humid conditions throughout the day, at noon, almost all the polling booths had voters waiting their turn in long queues. Some students returned back from the college without exercising their vote as their names were not on the voters list.
As 28 candidates are contesting election for several posts including president, vice president, secretary, joint secretary, treasurer, university representative, executive members, faculty representative, science representative and arts representative in this election, many voted only in the poll for a couple of posts.
For remaining posts, they either left the vote blank or voted without knowing the candidate. BA part-I student Anita Bish saidt, "I knew the names of only two candidates for whom I voted. I also exercised my franchise for remaining posts without knowing the candidates." All the candidates and their supporters were witnessed leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters. Candidates and their supporters used several methods while canvassing within and outside the campus. Supporters were seen standing at different roads go to the college wooing the voters.
Some voters were given their identity card by the supporters who procured it from the college. Police had made elaborate security arrangements for this polling. Three circle officers, Dalanwala inspector, dozens of sub-inspectors, three PAC platoons, about 200 head constables and constables and dozens of commandos were deployed within the college campus and city.
Dehradun SSP Kewal Khurana reached the college at around 2pm and inspected each polling booth and the campus. He expressed satisfaction over peaceful completion of polling in the college and said that the police had made all the security arrangements to conduct this election successfully. City magistrate GC Gunwant, SP city Jagdish Chandra, Circle officers Swatantra Kumar, Jaya Baloni, MS Farswan also made several rounds of polling stations ensuring peaceful conduct. The election officer Dr Gopal Kshetri said that a total of 7027 voters had exercised their franchise.
The counting of votes will begin from9 am on September 6 and the result is expected to be declared by evening on the same day, he added.