After last year’s record low turnout, voting for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections on Thursday showed a modest recovery.Of the 1.53 lakh registered voters, 60,272 students cast their ballots, pushing this year’s turnout to 39.36%. The figure marks a small rise from 2024’s 35.2%, but still falls short of the 42% recorded in 2023.The overall picture was mixed.At Kirori Mal College, the turnout stood at a mere 32%. Principal Dinesh Khattar said, “The college has successfully conducted polling and the campus is clean… no defacement or waste lying around.”At Ramjas College, the turnout was slightly higher, at 37.52%. “Voting has been successfully held at seven booths,” said Principal Ajay Arora.Miranda House saw over 2,500 students voting by the end of the first phase. Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda said, “We have witnessed a great turnout, as students have been queuing up since morning.”Hansraj College, meanwhile, became the flashpoint of the day.NSUI’s presidential candidate Joslyn Nandita Choudhary alleged malpractice, saying she found blue ink marks next to ABVP candidates’ names on an EVM during an inspection. “This is an attack on free and fair student democracy,” she said.Story continues below this adThe ABVP dismissed the charges. In a statement, it said, “In the Delhi University Students’ Union elections, the ABVP is on course to secure victory in all four seats. The allegations raised by NSUI regarding EVMs are baseless and reflect their frustration over an impending defeat.”Delhi ABVP state secretary Sarthak Sharma added, “Just as the Congress blames EVMs after every electoral loss, NSUI is following the same pattern. Their desperation is evident from their fear of defeat and declining popularity among students.”Away from the polling stations, students at DU’s South Campus painted a vivid picture of everyday struggles that continue to animate the union’s politics. Students discussed issues that rarely make it into campaign speeches — fee hikes, infrastructure gaps, and the burdens of the New Education Policy (NEP).A second-year student from Ram Lal Anand College said the lack of common space for students was pressing. “It becomes very difficult for us, not only for us, even for our parents when they come to visit us,” he said.Story continues below this adAt Motilal Nehru College, a fourth-year student raised the issue of fee hikes. “In my first year, the fee was Rs 8,000, now it’s Rs 15,000. I am from a middle-class family, we can’t afford these kinds of expenses. The candidates come for campaigning in their big luxury cars, what do they know about the struggles of a common student?”Another student from the same college, a transwoman, raised the issue of absence of gender-neutral washrooms. “I want to be called a woman, and my documents also say I am a woman. But will this campus allow me if I want to access the female washroom? Probably not. Can I access the male washroom? Why would I? I feel very dysphoric if I ever have to go to male washrooms.”At Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, a second-year student pointed to long-standing infrastructure gaps – no female washrooms on the first floor and no auditorium. “These issues have been brought up repeatedly over the years, but nothing has changed,” she said.The NEP remained another recurring theme. A first-year student, who had shifted from Indraprastha College For Women to Sri Venkateswara College after upgrading her college, said, “I have had to change all subjects… I wanted to do a minor degree in psychology and now I have to take up political science, which was my second option.”(Simran Josan is an intern with The Indian Express)