New Delhi:
Rain played spoilsport in Delhi University student polls today as a large number of voters preferred to stay at home leading to a dismal turnout of slightly over 30 per cent.
Fate of 41 candidates lay sealed as morning colleges where voting ended at 12.30 pm recorded a vote of 29 to 30 per cent while evening colleges registered a slightly better turnout of 34 to 36 per cent, officials said.
As the voting opened at 8.30 am, only die-hard supporters could be seen at the polling stations braving the heavy rain.
However, voting picked up slightly as the day progressed and rains relented.
The election in the campus has been billed as a decisive mandate against corruption by groups like BJP's student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the All India Students Association (AISA).
However, Congress' student group National Students Union of India (NSUI) has been at pains to make campus issues an agenda, highlighting what they call the "non-performance" of the past ABVP led unions.
Election observers said the poll had been largely peaceful with no major complaints being received throughout the day.
"No serious complaints were received, neither from the police nor from the students. The smaller allegations, meanwhile, are a matter to be checked," said Dr Satish Kumar, one of the observers for the polls.
While Ramjas College polled a little over 1,500 votes, Hansraj saw around 1,461, Hindu college 1,330 while Sri Ram College of Commerce and Khalsa College polled around 730 and 630 votes respectively.
Earlier in the day, as rain drenched the capital hampering traffic, party activists were seen exhorting students in hostels to turn up at polling centres.
Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta and other state leaders like Arvind Garg and Ajay Chauhan were seen on the campus.
Among colleges in South campus, Aditi Mahavidyalaya polled around 580 votes, while Shradhanand and Satyawati College (morning) saw 1212 and 900 votes being caste.
While the students might not have shown much enthusiasm, activists remained at the polling centres till the last vote was polled in the evening.
"Rain was a dampener but students did turn out later and we are confident of making a clean sweep though our margin of victory will be affected," said a confident Sanjay Verma, media coordinator of the ABVP.
ABVP had last year rode on the Commonwealth Games mess and an anti-Congress wave to its best victory in eight years, sweeping three of the four panel seats, and the party hopes to repeat the feat.
"We are sure the mandate will be against corruption as the sentiment is running very high and the competition will be primarily between the ABVP and our candidates," said AISA activist Prerna.
The NSUI, on the other hand, has tried hard to shrug off the other groups' anti-corruption slogans in an election that saw campaign pick up just when Delhi was in the grip of Anna Hazare fever.
Local issues like the need for more colleges, feeder buses and metro passes for students, better infrastructure in all colleges and free WiFi, have also dominated the agenda.
"We have interacted hard with the students, they tell us that people keep coming and going but our basic issues like feeder buses, campus infrastructure are always there. The students have responded very positively to our campaign. We have received good feedback," said Shahnawaz Khan of NSUI.