JNU records over 53 per cent polling; slogans, songs mark the day

NEW DELHI: Singing of self-composed songs, dapli beats and shouting of slogans marked the polling day at Jawaharlal Nehru University which recorded a voter turnout of 53.3 per cent in its students' union polls where campus security and hostel facilities surfaced as the key issues.

The polling has witnessed a marginal dip of 1.58 per cent as against last years percentage when a turnout of 54.58 per cent was recorded.

"The poll process went peacefully. The voter turnout was 53.3 per cent. While 8400 students were registered on the electoral rolls, the total number of votes polled were 4481," the CEC for JNU polls Praveen Thallapelli said.

The voting, which began on a slow note in the first half of the day, gained momentum post lunch as students queued up to cast their ballot.

Students sang songs and danced to the tune of dapli beats outside the polling centres and shouted slogans in support of their candidates.

"Polling for the first half of the day began at 9.30 AM and was extended by half an hour from the scheduled 1.00 PM. After a lunch break, it resumed at 2.30 PM and ended around 5.30 PM," Thallapelli said.