However, the counting was stalled after the CPN-UML-affiliated All Nepal National Free Students´ Union (ANNIFSU) demanded that vote counting at Prithivi Narayan Campus, Pokhara, also resume if vote counting is to resume at Kirtipur. The Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepal Students´ Union (NSU) also backed the ANNFSU demand, forcing the election committee at the campus to stall vote counting, though unofficially.
Not surprisingly, the demand of ANNFSU came after votes in its favor counted so far turned out to be way below the number of votes acquired by the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) and the NSU. And it was a good pretext for the ANNFSU, which feels it will easily win the election at P N Campus, Pokhara, where the ANNISU-R has been stalling vote counting so far, to demand that vote counting start in the largest campus in the country in terms of number of students.
The NSU too was not confident about its victory in Kirtipur as the votes did not turn out in its favor. Therefore, it supported the demand of the ANNFSU tacitly.
"We did not feel like sitting for vote counting as the ANNFSU demanded to put off the counting process until vote counting starts in P N Campus, Pokhara," said Anjan Lama, the NSU´s Presidential candidate at TU Campus, Kirtipur.
Unofficial reports said ANNISU-R´s Presidential candidate was leading its nearest rival of NSU by some 400 votes by the time ANNFSU put forth the demand. The votes obtained by the ANNFSU candidate was even lesser than that of NSU candidate.
According to the official announcement made by the Election Committee at the Campus on Sunday, ANNISU-R candidate Himal Sharma who is also general secretary of the Maoist ANNISU-R was leading in the presidential race with 1,470 votes. His nearest rival Anjan Lama of the NSU had 1,114 votes while Bidur Subba of ANNFSU had received 987 votes.
Observers of student politics feel that the FSU elections at the TU Campus, Kirtipur, which is the central campus in the country, is a prestige issue for all Students´ Unions and their mother parties.
Earlier, the ANNISU-R had made the election committee at the campus put off vote counting after some 300 votes were declared invalid as per the Code of Conduct set before the election. The ANNISU-R move arose apparently from fears that it could be defeated. But later, the ANNFSU and NSU opted for the same move out of similar concern.
Altogether 7,793 students had cast their votes in the FSU election at the Central Campus nine days ago.
Another factor that made the ANNFSU and the NSU stall vote counting was the FSU election slated to be held on Monday at Ratna Rajya Campus, Nepal Law Campus and Padma Kanya Campus, among others. They fear that the election result at the T U Campus, Kirtipur, could influence voting pattern at these campuses too.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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