This scene was repeated at the entrance to every college on the poll day, all under the watchful eyes of dozens of wary policemen, of course. Freshers were a bit taken aback by the onslaught of the supporters pushing for their candidate's victory. ``There is no way I am going to remember even one of these names,'' says Geeta Sharma, a first year student.

So, when it came to the decisive stamp of approval, in most cases it was a random choice. For the student with no political leaning, the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections were a trying time. Voting for their respective college unions was easy, but when it came to electing the office bearers of DUSU, they were clueless.

``We know most of the candidates who contest the college union elections,'' says Ritu Chawla of Miranda House. ``In the college, the college union matters. We need them to be good because all the events are finally organised by them. DUSU on the other hand is of no real consequence to any college. They don't work at the grassroot level, in the colleges''.

This response comes despite the fact that every party and candidate in contention spend more than the permitted allowance on campaigning, in a brazen violation of the election commission's code of conduct. For the last 10 days, candidates have been traversing across the entire university campus, from U-specials to canteens, from hostel rooms to classrooms.

Having done all this, the disinterested voices of a large section of the student community go unheeded. The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) takes its cadre votes for granted, the Left Students' Front is banking on their anti-fee hike agitation and the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on the ``dismal performance'' of the previous ABVP-led union.