NEW DELHI: Under a scorching September sun, Delhi University’s polling day unfolded not like a routine electoral exercise but more like a carefully choreographed student politics. Outside college gates, party supporters stationed themselves with cartons of ORS, packets of lassi (buttermilk) and bunches of bananas, offering quick relief to voters waiting in long queues, before quietly leaning in to whisper ballot numbers into their ears.
Soon after the voters came out from the voting centres, some of them were even offered samosas and chai.
Across north campus, particularly outside the law centres, the buzz was unmistakable. Queues snaked past gates and spilt onto roads, with students waiting patiently despite the heat. While the first few hours saw a slow start, with sparse turnout early in the morning, momentum picked up steadily after 11 am. By noon, most polling stations were witnessing heavy footfall, with queues stretching till well past the scheduled closing time of 1 pm.
Candidates and their supporters turned the day into an exercise in last-minute outreach. For many, it felt less like walking into a polling station and more like entering a reception line, where they were greeted with “Namaste ji, vote kardijiyega ji...”
The security arrangements remained tight, particularly along the Arts Faculty stretch, which was heavily barricaded. Drones hovered overhead capturing visuals of the exercise, while police personnel were deployed in large numbers. According to Additional DCP (North) Pukhraj K Gupta, the campus was divided into five zones and 23 sectors, each under designated officers, with pickets and checkpoints installed at key entry points.
Despite these measures, violations of Lyngdoh Committee norms were visible. Party stickers littered roads, and printed campaign material was scattered across several stretches of the campus, marking a contrast from last year’s relatively restrained voting day.
Tensions briefly surfaced outside Hansraj College, where slogan-shouting workers from ABVP and NSUI confronted each other, leading to a minor clash. Police intervened promptly, separating the groups and restoring order. Students, many voting for the first time, waited in the heat with a mix of curiosity and excitement.
Security
The security arrangements remained tight, particularly in the Arts Faculty, that was heavily barricaded. Drones hovered overhead capturing visuals, while police personnel were deployed in large numbers.