All halls are run by an elected student committee called the hall council. The head is the president followed by the general secretaries for Social & Cultural activities, Sports and Mess. Then there is a bunch of secretaries whose functioning is overlooked by the G'Secs. Only third year students and seniors can contest the elections for G'Secs whereas sophomores can be elected to the secretarial positions.
Secretaries handle portfolios which include common room, canteen/TV room, mess committee, athletics, indoor and outdoor games, wall paper and magazines, electrical maintenance, gardening, gymnasium, mechanical maintenance etc. The hall council meets regularly to discuss pertinent issues and upcoming events.
The elections for the hall committee are held around the first week of april i.e. one month before the end of the academic year. The nominations are filed over a week and then displayed on notice boards. The students are allowed around three days to withdraw their nominations after which the campaigning period starts. There are no posters or banners - the whole campaigning is done by personally visiting the different wings and meeting the residents.
Hall election time is one of the most enjoyable periods in a year since one gets to have fun at the expense of those who stand for the elections. The people contending for the major posts tend to have more serious discussions but those standing for secretarial positions end up being lampooned. All of this is, of course, in good spirit and just gives the more senior students a chance to evaluate the temperament and capabilities of the contenders.
The night before the elections is when all the hall residents get together in the mess for the "Soap Box". In this, the contenders for each important post are called together and then quizzed/grilled by a panel of seasoned senior students and the general hall populace. The majority of the hall population makes up their minds on this night as to who they will be voting for.
The hall elections are held on an evening in april and the winners usually take over sometime in the middle of april. Their first responsibility is usually to organise the final year students' farewell.