Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India's (NSUI) Joint Secretarial candidate for the DUSU election, Abhishek Chaprana, alleged that he was not allowed into polling booths and was assaulted by the police force deputed at the Dayal Singh College in South Delhi while the ABVP Presidential candidate, Akshit Dahiya, was almost led in by the same police personnel. He also denied the accusation that he was canvassing for votes stating that he only asked one of the students for his phone to call for his car.
The NSUI candidate said that the whole ordeal went on for two hours and he was only allowed to go inside the booth for five minutes. "They did not let me enter the booth and started physically assaulting me. Like any other candidate, I am allowed to enter the polling booth. I was well within my rights. Even when I could enter the booth the police officer accompanying me was holding my hand throughout and he pulled me out after merely five minutes," said Abhishek. "ABVP's Presidential candidate, Akshit Dahiya, on the other hand, was cordially welcomed and ushered in by the same police officers.He was inside the booth for about thirty minutes," he added.
However, police said he was canvassing for votes outside the college, which is not allowed. When he was asked not to canvass, he "misbehaved" with policemen and had to be detained, police said. Sehrawat said he suspects the BJP-affiliated ABVP had something to do with his detainment, "We are allowed to campaign but not within 10-20 metres of the college."
Abhishek clarified his action, "They were not letting us park our car anywhere nearby. I could not find my car and neither did I have my phone with me so I just asked a student standing there if I could use his phone. That's all. I was never asking anyone to vote," he said.
The Delhi University Students' Union election 2019 started at 9.30 am on September 12. Out of the 16 candidates in the fray, there are only four women in contention, while two of them are contesting independently. The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has fielded Akshit Dahiya for the post of DUSU president, Pradeep Tanwar for the vice president's post, Yogit Rathee for the general secretary's post and Shivangi Kherwal for the post of joint secretary.
The National Students Union of India (NSUI) has pitted Chetna Tyagi against Dahiya and Left-backed AISA's Damini Kain for the post of president. The NSUI has fielded Ankit Bharti for the vice president's post, Ashish Lamba for the secretary's post and Abhishek Chaprana for the post of joint secretary. Last year, the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad had won three posts while the NSUI won one post.
