New Delhi:
The elections for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) will take place today with a total of 38 contestants for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary. The results will be declared Saturday.
There are 13 candidates in the fray for the post of president, seven for vice-president and nine each for the posts of secretary and joint secretary.
The main fight is between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI). The Left-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) is another significant contender.
ABVP's presidential candidate is Ankit Dhananjay Chaudhary, while Gaurav Chaudhary would be contesting for the post of vice-president. The secretarial candidate of ABVP is Ritu Rana and Vishu Basoya is the joint secretarial candidate.
On the other hand, Arun Hooda of NSUI would be contesting for the post of president; Varun Khari has been fielded for the post of vice-president; Varun Chaudhary is the candidate for the post of secretary; and Raveena Choudhary is the joint secretarial candidate.
The campaigning for the polls has ended and security has been beefed up with Delhi Police personnel guarding the campus ahead of the polls.
Fearing violence during the upcoming university elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday "appealed" to Delhi Police to depute more personnel in the campus.
Apart from the usual street plays and college visits to garner support, the student outfits have taken to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to a wider electorate.
The ABVP had thumped NSUI in the elections held last year as it bagged three of the four posts, while NSUI could only manage to win the post of president.
The University of Delhi was established in 1922.
The varsity has 16 faculties and 86 departments spread over north and south campuses. It has 77 affiliated colleges and a few recognised institutes with around 1.5 lakh regular students and more than 2.5 lakh students in non-formal stream.