Elections for post of secretary deferred; results after High Court decision on Oct 9
The second phase of the first-ever Jammu University Students Union (JUSU) elections concluded peacefully amid tight security arrangements on the campus here today.
The university authorities heaved a sigh of relief with the smooth conduct of elections as no untoward incident was reported. The elections were conducted for three posts — president, vice-president and joint secretary, while the elections for the post of secretary were postponed following the High Court directions in favour of a contesting candidate.
The High Court has also restrained the university from declaring the results. The next date of hearing in the case is October 9 and till then there will be no counting of votes.
The fate of at least 12 candidates contesting for the three posts was sealed in the ballot boxes. The elections, which have been conducted in an indirect way on the Lyngdoh Committee’s recommendations, were held at the Dean Students’ Welfare Department.
In the first phase, the elections were held for the posts of Class Representatives (CRs) and Department Representatives (DRs) on September 25. An executive council of 70 members comprising 46 CRs and 24 DRs was constituted following which they formed the Electoral College for the elections to the office-bearers of JUSU held today. There was single ballot paper vote.
“Everything passed off peacefully and in a smooth manner. There was 100 per cent polling. However, we did not conduct the elections for the post of secretary as the High Court had asked for allowing one of the two candidates, whose nomination was rejected earlier, to participate in the elections,” Professor MA Malik, Election Commissioner, told Kashmir Post.
Malik said the ballot boxes were sealed in front of the candidates and the decision on the counting of votes would be made only after the court order.
Professor Satnam Kour, Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW), Jammu University, said the elections for the post of secretary could take some time. “We are holding a valedictory function of the annual ‘display your talent’ event on October 9 while the elections for the Jammu University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) are scheduled for October 10. However, it will take at least a week to make preparations for the conduct of exams,” she added.
A close contest is expected between the ABVP and the NSUI. The NSUI was supported by different students’ group. However, the entry of the third group, Parivartan, made the elections interesting.
For the coveted post of president, Arun Dev Singh (ABVP) and Abhinandan Sharma (Parivartan), both from Law Department, and Harsh Vardan Singh (a joint candidate of NSUI, NCSU and other groups) from DSRS have tried their luck.
For the post of vice-president, Ajay Kumar from the Department of Biotechnology, Anjali Sharma from the Department of Economics and Sajeed Malik from the Department of Political Science contested the elections.
Similarly, a total of six candidates, including Anirudh Raina from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Anita Devi from the Department of Commerce, Kunal Bhardwaj from the Department of Education, Narinder Kumar from the Department of Dogri, Taniya Mahajan from the Department of EVS and Zulfikar Ahmad from the Department of Buddhist Studies, were in the fray for the post of joint secretary.
The university authorities had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the elections. The teaching work was suspended in the university and no outsider was allowed inside the campus.
