New Delhi: Fifty-one colleges under the University of Delhi (DU) will be voting today to elect the new office-bearers for the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU).

Around 96,083 students studying in 51 DU colleges are eligible to vote in the elections, which will be held between 8:30AM and 12:30PM for morning colleges and between 4:00PM and 8:00PM for evening colleges.

The DUSU elections this year presented a welcome change from elections of previous years as the promotional campaigns by student parties this year were devoid of littering and noise pollution, keeping in mind the regulations stipulated by the Lyngdoh Committee.

The Lyngdoh Committee had directed student parties to not use printed banners, posters and stickers and had also prohibited campaigning in cars with loud speakers and using animals for promoting their candidates.

DU students will not only be electing the DUSU panel but will also be voting for their college union. A total of 943 electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used all over DU for the election process. Student voters will be allowed inside poling stations only if they are carrying their identity cards.

For the college level elections, 111 polling booths have been set up whereas 130 polling booths have been set up for the DUSU elections.

To ensure a smooth conduct of the elections and to keep a check on improper activities during the elections, around 15-20 police officers have been stationed at all colleges and voting booths. Along with 13 control rooms, 14 CCTV cameras have been placed at certain locations to keep an eye on all students.

41 candidates are competing for the coveted four posts in the DUSU panel. There are eleven candidates each for the position of President and Secretary. For the position of Vice-President and Joint Secretary, there are nine and ten candidates respectively.

The main parties that are contesting the elections include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students Union of India (NSUI), All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Students Association (AISA), Indian National Students Organization (INSO) and the Students Federation of India (SFI).

The candidates competing for the post of DUSU president include Aparajitha Raja of AISF, Shweta Raj of AISA, Jitender Choudhary of ABVP, Harish Choudhary of NSUI, Sachin Kumar Dalal of INSO and Sunand of SFI.

The electronic voting machines will be opened on Saturday and the results of the elections will be declared thereafter. The counting of the votes for the elections this year will be held in the office of the dean of students' welfare.