ABVP wins DU Students' Union polls, crushes NSUI by bagging 3 of 4 seats

Riding on a high-octane campaign, the RSS-affiliated ABVP wrested the president's post from the NSUI and bagged two other positions in the keenly-contested Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) polls, restricting its arch-rival to just one seat.

In a repeat of its 2023 performance in the polls, the results of which were declared on Friday, the saffron outfit won the posts of president, secretary and joint secretary, while the NSUI had to remain content with its sole victory for the vice-president's position.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) Aryan Maan bagged the president's post, trouncing his rival from the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Joslyn Nandita Choudhary, by a margin of 16,196 votes.

The only NSUI candidate to register a win -- Rahul Jhansla -- received 29,339 votes and defeated the ABVP's Govind Tanwar, who managed 20,547 votes, to win the vice-president's post.

Kunal Chaudhary of the ABVP polled 23,779 votes to bag the secretary's post by defeating the NSUI's Kabir, who secured 16,117 votes.

ABVP's Deepika Jha defeated Lavkush Bhadana to win the joint secretary's post in the central panel. Jha received 21,825 votes against Bhadana's 17,380.

The alliance of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students' Association (AISA) drew a blank.

Maan, the new president of the DUSU, said he was 100 per cent sure of his win.

The victory celebrations were relatively muted this time in the wake of the Delhi High Court's order against disruptive festivities and heavy police deployment.

Meanwhile, the high court expressed disappointment and pain over the students' using luxury cars and JCB machines during the elections, and said they have not learnt any lesson from last year's judicial order that withheld the poll results owing to nuisance and defacement of public property.

"It is very tragic, a sad commentary on the state of affairs, a sad commentary on the democratic functioning of the society, a sad commentary on the democratic functioning of the institutions here," a bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including its president J P Nadda, said the ABVP's victory on key posts shows that the "Nation First" message has been embraced by the young generation, even as the NSUI patted its back for putting up a spirited fight against the combined might of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), BJP and the DU administration.

Talking to PTI after the poll results were announced, Maan said, "I had the support of students from across colleges. My first priority will be to fulfil our promise of concessional metro passes for DU students. Apart from that, ensuring that adequate training equipment are provided to all our athletes will be my priority."

He said the newly-elected panel will remain connected with the ground throughout the year and work tirelessly for the students.

The Left outfits failed to open their account this year as well. Of the 59,882 votes cast for the president's post, the SFI-AISA coalition's candidate, Anjali, received only 5,385, finishing a distant fourth behind Umanshi Lamba, a former NSUI member who contested the election independently and secured the third place with 5,522 votes.

After the results were announced, ABVP's winning candidates were lifted on the shoulders by their supporters, who raised slogans hailing them.

The newly-elected DUSU president waved the tricolour as slogans of "Maan, Maan" rent the air. He later wrapped himself with the national flag as he was carried on the shoulders by his supporters. Jha, the only woman candidate on the central panel, was virtually buried in garlands as her supporters chanted her name.

Chaudhary, who won the secretary's post, thanked those who voted for the ABVP. "I assure the students that I will always stand by them and work for their welfare," he said.

Jha, who has been elected as the joint secretary, expressed gratitude towards the student community, saying it has recognised her efforts and ensured her victory with a margin of 4,000 votes.

"I came from Bihar and for the last six years, I have been striving for this moment," she added.

In a post on X, NSUI national president Varun Choudhary said the outfit "fought well in this odd election -- not just against the ABVP, but against the combined force of the DU admin, Delhi govt, central govt, RSS-BJP and Delhi Police".

"Yet thousands of DU students stood firmly with us and our candidates fought well. Best wishes to Rahul Jhansla, newly elected DUSU vice president from NSUI panel, and to all other office bearers who won. Win or lose, NSUI will always fight for common students, their issues and to save DU. We will only grow stronger," he said.

According to observers, one of the decisive factors that tilted the scale in the ABVP's favour was its extensive cadre network. In contrast, the NSUI's campaign was largely candidate-centric. Its outreach relied heavily on personalities rather than sustained organisational mobilisation, which weakened its connect at the grassroots.

Independent candidates, such as Lamba, who entered the fray after being denied a ticket by the NSUI, further fragmented the Congress-backed outfit's base.

In the 2024 DUSU polls, the NSUI won the president's post after a hiatus of seven years, along with the joint secretary's post.

The ABVP secured the vice-president's post and retained the secretary's position last year, maintaining its presence in the union.