ABVP Wins Three of Four DUSU Posts; Independent Takes Vice-President

Synopsis

On Sept 19, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, an offside organization, had defeated the Congress-backed NSUI to secure the presidency and secretary, joint secretary of the Delhi University Students' Union, while Deepanshu Shokeen, an independent candidate, had won the vice-presidency. Turnout was at 40.46 per cent, the highest in three years. The count came after the Delhi High Court lashed out at the campaign for violence and violation of the code and with notices to 140 candidates banning victory processions.

The four-seater central panel of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) sat with one seat vacant on Saturday but it was not taken by the main opposition player, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). It was sent to someone who didn't have that other party's ticket.

The counting started at 8 am in the Multipurpose Hall of the University Sports Stadium in North Campus and the final numbers were announced later in the day.

A split verdict across the central panel was recorded

ABVP's Yash Dabas secured a victory with 24,576 votes against the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) candidate Vijay Shankar Meena with 22,523 votes, securing a margin of 2,053 votes.

Riya Chhawdi secured the secretary's post with 21,650 votes, while Lakshya Raj Singh got joint secretary. In that race, an independent, Vishesh Yadav, and NSUI's Gopal Choudhary both had the lead at various points in the counting.

The turnout was 40.46 per cent, compared with 39.5 per cent the previous year – the highest in three years. A total of 960 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used in two phases of polling at 52 polling centres.

There are 91 colleges and faculties in Delhi University and only 52 colleges and faculties are participating in the DUSU elections, while the two colleges St Stephen's and Jesus and Mary College are not.

The Independent Who Interrupted the Sweep

Deepanshu Shokeen received 30,615 votes for vice-president and ABVP's Ishu Maurya got 16,910 votes, while NSUI's Vir Chatrath received 4,313 votes.

He is said to be from Peeragarhi and his father is a bus conductor and his mother is an Anganwadi worker. He had applied for an NSUI ticket, but was not given one and ran as an independent.

A Campaign Under Judicial Watch

This was restricted by the Delhi High Court. A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia prohibited victory processions on roads, campuses and in hostels. It has issued notices to 140 candidates and student organisations over violation of the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, the model code and earlier directions.

The petition, filed by advocate Prashant Manchanda, mentioned violence, vandalism, and cars not wearing number plates and luxury cars. The court stated that it will now move on to award collective electoral damages for students and student organizations. At the hearing the Bench asked the organisations, "Are you people students?

The proceedings did not run one way. The Additional Solicitor General had argued that things were better than in the previous years and the NSUI had not been responsible for any violence. NSUI's counsel had agreed with the Additional Solicitor General that conditions had improved in previous years and had denied any involvement of the organisation in violence.

It is the triumph of harmony, patriotism and strength of the Sangh says — Yash Dabas

Addressing safety audit of all college, hostel and paying-guests accommodation would be his top priority as there was a college accident in Satya Niketan, Dabas said. Seven people, including students, were killed in the earlier this month building collapse. ABVP campaigned for a Student Housing Cell and AISA-SFI campaigned for affordable accommodation

The fortunes of a Panel Who's Keep Switching

It was in 2024 when NSUI finally got the win and elected President and Joint Secretary. In 2025, the vice-presidency was retained by NSUI while the presidency, secretariat and joint-secretary were changed to ABVP. In a 2017 report in The Asian Age, the polls were called an important measure of the youth mood of Congress and BJP.

The following is procedural and political. The High Court has told police to complete the criminal probe started as part of the campaign. The issue of compensation for electoral damages is yet to be heard before it.

There is no contest on the scoreboard here: 3–1. The promises about housing and safety that were made on the campaign trail and the expected verdict of the court on electoral damages will help determine what the new panel will be asked about.