It looks like ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option caught the voters’ attention in this year’s Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls. Despite turning out in low numbers to vote on September 27, the students by choosing NOTA, have given a clarion call to student organisations that muscle and money power are not everything.
Over 20,000 students voted for NOTA this year out of the total 2,03,458 votes polled for each post. However, the total vote share by the left parties, comprising All India Students' Association (AISA) and Students' Federation of India, was also recorded to be 20,827, it may be noted that the left parties reached the same percentage as NOTA.
The post of secretary received the maximum number of NOTA votes, 6,771, followed by the Joint Secretary post.
In the SFI-AISA’s panel, the presidential candidate received only 2,695 votes as compared to 3,906 votes for NOTA; the vice-president post received 3,650 votes as compared to 4,411 votes for NOTA. However, the Joint Secretary received 5,676 votes while NOTA received 5,660 votes. Similarly, the candidate for the post of Secretary received 8,806 votes which was higher than NOTA which was only 6,771.
One of the students, Vardana Misra shared, “The blatant display of money and power made us go for the NOTA option. We wanted to ask who is the genuine leader among all. How do we find out about the leader within 15 days, when he comes and shows us his face? We know him through the banners put up across the campus. Otherwise, there is there a connection between that leader and a common student?”
Meanwhile, one of the SFI leaders said, “The students of DU have delivered a breath of fresh air to Left Unity and the larger ongoing struggle against the ABVP."
