For days after a private hostel in Satya Niketan collapsed on September 6, killing seven people, including five Delhi University students, student groups from across the spectrum had protested near the Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus Metro Station close by.Twelve days later, on Friday, while voting was underway for Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls, the same area was carpeted with thousands of colourful voting slips.The election is taking place in the shadow of the tragedy at Satya Niketa — a hub of private student accommodation for students of DU’s South Campus colleges — and student housing and safety were common themes across manifestos. However, the last few days leading to Friday’s voting saw old patterns of money and muscle power re-emerging.Also Read | Express Impact: Delhi High Court fury over 7 deaths in building collapse, calls it ‘criminal conduct’Scenes from North CampusBy 8.30 am, when voting began, security had been increased in North Campus.Heavy barricades were put up at several points along the route to the Arts Faculty to restrict the entry of outsiders.While party supporters were barred from entering the campus, SUVs and groups of supporters of key candidates from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were visible in the morning hours.Story continues below this adBy 10.30 am, even as a sizeable crowd of student voters was yet to show up, party supporters were seen moving around, urging students to vote for particular candidates.There were minor arguments as supporters gathered near the entry points, with police personnel asking them not to stand close to the barricades and to move away from the entry area.Vrinda Singh, a second-year law student at Campus Law Centre in North Campus, was waiting outside for her friends before casting her vote.“The key issues were college-specific. Student housing wasn’t discussed predominantly here… Candidates were mainly addressing infrastructure-related issues… maybe because the issues affecting us here are different from South campus,” she said.Story continues below this adShe said she had actively participated in the student protests at Jantar Mantar in July, which culminated in the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. She believed that since then, student participation and interest in politics had subtly changed but not enough to have a significant impact on the outcome of the DUSU elections. Outside Sri Venkateswara College in South Campus. (Express Photo by Sophiya Mathew)Anmol, an NSUI worker whose friend Neeraj Bawa was seriously injured in the Satya Niketan building collapse, said the presence of independent candidates had made the contest more closely fought.“Had it been only NSUI and ABVP, without any independent candidates, the chances would have been better. This time, it seems to be a tight contest because the NSUI vote could be split, with some of it going to Deepanshu Shokeen (independent), who was denied a party ticket. He has a strong support base, including many people who would have rather supported the NSUI,” he said.He added that despite the Satya Niketan tragedy, he did not think raising the issue of student housing would have been a key turning point in the election.Story continues below this adAlso Read | DUSU polls: Delhi High Court bars victory processions, slams candidates for violationsPreparations on the groundAround 960 EVMs have been deployed, with 40 kept in reserve to tackle the situation of technical glitch if any occurs, Chief Electoral Officer Prof Raj Kishore Sharma said.The DU Chief Electoral Office has also provided EVM machines to colleges for college-level elections happening parallelly with the DUSU polls.This is the first time EVMs are in use in almost all colleges with the exception of few due to technical reasons. Previously most DU colleges had been using ballot paper for college-level student union elections.Story continues below this adBy noon, students at Sri Venkateswara College in South Campus had queued up in long lines reaching up to the metro station, to cast their vote.Speaking with The Indian Express, college Principal Prof Vajala Ravi said, “… this time, arrangements have been very well regulated compared to previous years. All 215 teaching staff, 150 non-teaching staff, and about 50-60 contractual staff, including the security, have been deployed on election duty.”The college has three gates, and only one gate was opened to regulate student traffic and ensure smooth oversight.College vice-principal, Prof Nandita Narainasamy, said the college has the highest number of PwD students (People with Disabilities) at 79. She said special arrangements have been made, with booths set up at the ground floor, for them.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, Ravi said polling booths had been set up in the same building across four blocks, with students divided so that each booth had a roughly equal number of voters. “We have 20 courses, and each booth may have five or eight courses to ensure an equal division of students,” he said.