The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) achieved a significant comeback in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections on Monday, winning the president and joint secretary positions after seven years.
NSUI’s Rounak Khatri defeated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Rishabh Chaudhary by a margin of over 1,300 votes, garnering 20,207 votes to Chaudhary’s 18,864. Jubilant celebrations followed the victory, marking NSUI’s resurgence in a body historically dominated by ABVP.
While NSUI claimed two key positions, ABVP retained the vice president and secretary posts. Bhanu Pratap Singh of ABVP secured the vice president position with 24,166 votes, leaving NSUI’s Yash Nandal far behind with 15,404 votes. Similarly, ABVP’s Mitravinda Karanwal clinched the secretary post with 16,703 votes, defeating NSUI’s Namrata Jeph Meena.
The results signify a shift in student politics, with NSUI breaking ABVP’s hold on DUSU, which had seen the latter dominating three of the four central panel positions in recent years.
Originally scheduled for September 28, the election results were delayed due to concerns over defacement during the campaign. This year’s contest saw intense competition with 21 candidates vying for the four central panel posts. The elections were contested on an ideological battle among the RSS-affiliated ABVP, Congress-backed NSUI, and the Left-aligned coalition of AISA and SFI.