Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 19: The BJP’s students wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) swept the elections to the prestigious Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) winning three of the four top posts with an independent clinching the vice-president’s post as the Congress party’s students wing National Students Union of India (NSUI) coming out a cropper losing in fight for all the four posts after initial leads.
The ABVP’s Yash Dabas bagged the president post in the tightly contested DUSU election 2026 over NSUI’s Vijay Meena. The BJP’s student wing has also clinched the Secretary and Joint Secretary posts, while a rebel NSUI leader Deepanshu Shokeen, who contested as an independent, bagged the vice-president’s post defeating both the ABVP and NSUI aspirants y huge margins.
ABVP’s Yash Dabas won the President post with 24,576 votes, defeating NSUI’s Vijay Shankar Meena, who secured 22,523 votes. Riya Chhawdi won the Secretary post with 21,650 votes, while Lakshya Raj Singh won the Joint Secretary post with 16,615 votes. Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen, a former NSUI member, won the Vice-President post with 30,615 votes. ABVP’s Ishu Maurya finished second with 16,910 votes, while NSUI’s Vir Chatrath secured 4,313 votes.
Delhi High Court has barred victory processions following the violence witnessed during campaigning for the DUSU elections. This comes as polling is underway for students attending day classes. The High Court has issued show-cause notices to all student organisations, asking why a collective election penalty should not be imposed on them for violating the rules. The court has also issued show-cause notices to all candidates contesting the DUSU elections.
The HC said the Delhi Police should not hesitate to take action against those involved merely because they are students. “They are not students. And I don’t know what the student organisations are doing,” the court observed.
The High Court reiterated that Delhi University and other authorities must take all necessary steps and measures to ensure there was no violation of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations or the various orders issued from time to time. The High Court further directed the Delhi Police and DU authorities to take preventive measures to prevent violations during the DUSU elections.
In last year’s DUSU elections, BJP-backed ABVP clinched three posts, while Congress’s NSUI won one post. ABVP’s Aryan Mann won the President post, Deepika Jha got the Joint Secretary post and Kunal Choudhary bagged the Secretary post. NSUI clinched the only vice president post. The DUSU election witnessed a closely-watched contest among the ABVP, the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the AISA-SFI alliance for the four central panel posts — president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary.
DUSU President-elect Yash Dabas spoke about the issues he plans to take up during his tenure. He said providing hostel facilities for students would be his top priority. Dabas also addressed the allegations raised by NSUI regarding alleged rigging in the DUSU elections. In a statement, he said, “it is a victory of harmony, patriotism, and the collective strength of the Sangh. Students from institutions ranging from PU to DU have worked to ensure our victory. NSUI has been completely wiped out from the campus; NSUI lost 4-0. Our primary concern will be ensuring that a safety audit is conducted for every PG and hostel. We all witnessed the accident that occurred in Satya Niketan; we do not want such an incident to happen to anyone in the future, and that will be our first priority—conducting safety audits for every college, hostel, and PG. The Vidyarthi Parishad won 3-1 last time and has won 3-1 this time as well; next time, we will win 4-0.”
DUSU vice president-elect Deepanshu Shokeen spoke about the voice of Gen Z students and said the younger generation is now more aware. He said Gen Z students “know better now” and cannot be easily fooled. Shokeen said he wants to work honestly for students. He also spoke about the Satya Niketan incident and said he would continue to fight for justice for those who lost their lives. Shokeen said he would not wear shoes until justice was served to the victims.
DUSU Secretary-elect Riya Chhawdi said female safety would be her top priority during her tenure. She also urged young students not to lose hope and to keep fighting for their goals.