File Photo: Students wait to cast their votes in DUSU election. (Press Trust of India)
For the third time in a row, the student union polls of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will clash with that of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls which are scheduled on September 11.
The schedule was decided at an all-organisation meeting with the election commission held today evening.
The election process of JNU students' union was last week set in motion with the appointment of chief election commissioner along with constitution of an election body.
The name of CEC is proposed by the JNUSU and has to be unanimously accepted by the election body, members of which are selected in the general body meetings (GBM) of various schools in the varsity.
"In today's meeting it was unanimously decided that the polling will be held on September 11. So from now on the model code of conduct will be in place and the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations need to be followed," Praveen Thallapelli, the newly appointed CEC told PTI.
JNUSU is the representative body of the students in the varsity. The polls have been keenly contested over decades.
The poll pattern at JNU, however, differs from that of Delhi University.
Besides the routine campaigning, the candidates in JNU are also supposed to make speeches about their agenda followed by a round of questions at the "Presidential debate".
The night-long event which is conducted in the style of US Presidential debate is a sought after affair and also a deciding factor for the union elections.
"Nominations will have to be filed by September 1 and candidates can withdraw the next day. The presidential debate is on September 9. The results are likely to be declared by September 13," Mr Thallapeli said.
Left-backed All India Students' Association (AISA) had swept the JNUSU polls last year bagging all the top four positions, including the President's post, for the second consecutive year.
In a first, the Election Committee had also introduced None of the Above (NOTA) option.
Digital voting, which was also introduced for the first time, was widely used by visually-impaired students.
The computers had an interactive HTML portal which recorded students' choices.