The elections for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) have successfully concluded, with more than 145,000 students from the university's North and South campuses casting their votes. According to the Chief Election Officer of DUSU, 145,893 students from 52 colleges voted to elect new leaders for the roles of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Joint Secretary until 5:45 PM. While students anxiously await the results, Delhi High Court has emphasized cleanliness, halting the announcement of results until campus tidiness is addressed.
The Delhi High Court declared that candidates must ensure the cleanliness of the campus before the vote counting can proceed. Considering the expenses incurred, it's reasonable to expect candidates to cover the cleaning and repainting costs. The court remarked that distributing free food during the DUSU elections was unprecedented, not even seen in general elections. The court questioned whether more money was spent on the Delhi University Students' Union elections than the general elections.
The court noted that daily challenges, such as dengue and malaria outbreaks, persist in the city. While elections celebrate democracy, they should not become a celebration of financial extravagance. The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for October 21. In a previous hearing, the Delhi High Court had suspended voting procedures for the DUSU elections. The petition filed raised concerns about the excessive use of money in campaign activities and demanded the cancellation of the elections.
The Delhi High Court communicated to student leaders that they are not inclined to delay the results. However, to proceed, candidates must clean public properties/sites, repaint them if necessary, and counting can resume the following day. Police data from other colleges were not available at the time of writing. To facilitate orderly elections, a strong police presence was observed on both campuses, with officers patrolling on motorcycles.
