JNUSU Elections 2018: Counting suspended; Left claims ABVP members created ruckus

Counting of votes for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) polls was suspended Saturday morning after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) protested, saying they were not informed about it.

The JNU Election Committee said in a statement it suspended the counting temporarily. While it declined to name the party which protested, the ABVP said their counting agent was not informed about the beginning of counting of votes polled in science schools.

Meanwhile, Left student union members alleged that the ABVP created a ruckus, but the ABVP denied the allegation.

"The counting process, which began on September 14 at 10 pm has been suspended due to forcible entry into the counting venue and attempts to snatch away the sealed ballot boxes as well as ballot papers from our counting centres," according to the Left Bloc. They also claimed that their members, including women, faced intimidation.

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"Around 4:00am, ABVP broke the glasses of the School of International Studies building. EC stopped the counting indefinitely," the Left members said, adding that the ABVP counting agent was called but he did not turn up on time.

Vijay Kumar, ABVP president of JNU, said their counting agent was not called and the counting process was initiated in front of the members of the Left outfit.

"We protested peacefully as the EC is biased towards the Left. We did not create any ruckus," Kumar was quoted as saying in PTI.

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The JNUSU election on Friday recorded 67.8 per cent voter turnout, believed to be the highest in six years. Over 5,000 students cast their votes, according to reports.

On Thursday, Technical glitches in EVMs stalled the counting process for the Delhi University Students' Union polls for nearly three hours. The counting resumed after parties reached a consensus.