NEW DELHI
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won three of the four Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) central panel posts while the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) secured one as results were declared on Friday after the high-stakes contest saw a turnout of nearly 40%.
The RSS-affiliated ABVP won the president, secretary, and joint secretary posts, while the Congress-backed NSUI secured the post of vice president.
Counting began at 8 a.m. and continued into the afternoon, with results announced after 21 rounds.
ABVP’s Aryan Maan emerged as president by securing 59,882 votes. He defeated NSUI’s Joslyn Nandita Chaudhary by over 15,500 votes.
The joint panel of the Left-backed All India Students’ Union (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) also drew some support. Their candidate, Anjali, secured 5,385 votes.
The previous panel was split evenly between NSUI and ABVP, with NSUI’s Ronak Khatri serving as president. This year, NSUI’s Rahul Jhansla won the vice president post with 29,339 votes. He defeated ABVP’s Govind Tanwar, who bagged 20,547 votes.
Panel’s priorities
ABVP’s Kunal Choudhary won the secretary post with 23,779 votes, while NSUI’s Kabir finished second with 16,117 votes.
For the post of joint secretary, ABVP’s Deepika Jha received 21,825 votes, defeating NSUI’s Lavkush Bhadana, who got 17,380 votes. AISA-SFI’s Abhinandana secured 9,535 votes.
NSUI had alleged vote manipulation during polling on Thursday, but university officials dismissed the charges, saying no such irregularities were found.
Mr. Maan, who hails from Haryana’s Bahadurgarh, said, “I will work for a metro concession pass for Delhi University students as well as better infrastructure on campus.”
Ms. Jha, whose campaign focused on menstrual hygiene, said, “I came here from Bihar and worked hard. Every student of DU understood my struggle. I thank them all.”
Mr. Jhansla of NSUI said his priorities include the appointment of a mental health counsellor, menstrual leave for women students, and hostel accommodation for all.
Student discontent was reflected in the large number of NOTA (none of the above) votes, with 3,175 students opting for it while voting for president, 5,820 for vice president, 7,365 for secretary, and 7,314 for joint secretary.
CM extends wishes
Congratulating the winners, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the Delhi government looked forward to working with the new panel on student initiatives. “Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all young comrades on ABVP’s splendid victory in the DUSU elections. This victory is not just of an organisation but also of every youth who considers patriotism, discipline, service, and struggle as the guiding path of their life,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court expressed displeasure on Friday over the use of luxury cars for campaigning in the elections and issued notices to student leaders. It posted the matter for hearing on November 6.
“What can be worse than such a kind of campaign in students’ union elections. From where do they get such big cars – Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Ferraris? How are students getting this? We haven’t even heard of these cars,” the court said.
Terming it “tragic”, the court said, “It appears that students have not learnt a lesson from last year’s order… We are most disappointed with students.”
Before the results were declared, the university officials reminded students of the court’s ban on victory processions.
This year, the campus saw only minor defacement violations compared with previous years when rules were openly flouted.
Published – September 20, 2025 01:32 am IST
