New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS): Polling to elect office bearers of the students' unions at Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) began on the campuses of the two universities in the national capital Friday.
At Delhi University, voting began at 8.30 a.m., and will continue till 12.30 p.m. for students in day classes, while those attending evening classes can cast their votes from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., officials said.
Counting of votes for Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections will begin Saturday, Sep 14, at 8 a.m., after all the electronic voting machines (EVMs) from the 50 colleges affiliated to DUSU are collected.
The DUSU contest is mostly between the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) backed by the Congress and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's students wing. There are also a few candidates fielded by the All India Students Association (AISA), a radical Left group.
With several clashes and violence between the different party groups already reported, the polling at DU is being undertaken under strict surveillance of Delhi Police. Video camera teams have been deployed at the polling booths.
At the DU 2012 elections, the NSUI bagged the three major posts, while for the post of joint secretary there was a tie between the ABVP and NSUI.
In DU, 12 candidates each are in the fray for president and vice president, 17 are vying for the post of secretary, and 10 for joint secretary - the four major posts.
Voting in the JNU polls began at 9.30 a.m. and will go on till 6 p.m., with an hour's break in between.
Polling booths of JNU are at the Environmental Science Department, School of International Language, School of Social Science and at the School of International Studies.
With polling being conducted with ballot papers, the counting of votes for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union will begin Friday but the result will likely be out Sep 16, Monday.
Students Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students Association (AISA) are the major players at the JNUSU elections, but the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have also fielded candidates.
In the 2012 JNUSU elections, the SFI took the major posts and only the post of vice president was won by an AISA candidate.
At JNU, there are eight candidates for president, five for vice-president, six for general secretary and three for joint secretary.
The internal security personnel, comprising private guards, are expected to suffice for the conduct of peaceful polls at the JNU campus.
Around 9,000 students would cast their votes in the JNUSU elections; the figure for DUSU is around 1.25 lakh.