The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has won three of the four key posts in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections 2026, while independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen secured the Vice-President’s post. After 20 rounds of counting, ABVP candidates emerged victorious in the President, Secretary and Joint Secretary contests. Yash Dabas won the President’s post with 24,576 votes, defeating NSUI’s Vijay Shankar Meena, who received 22,523 votes. Riya Chhawdi won the Secretary post with 21,650 votes, while Lakshya Raj Singh secured the Joint Secretary position with 16,615 votes.
Shokeen, a former NSUI member who contested as an independent, won the Vice-President’s post with 30,615 votes. ABVP’s Ishu Maurya finished second with 16,910 votes, while NSUI’s Vir Chatrath received 4,313 votes. Before the results were formally announced, university officials asked the winning candidates and their supporters not to hold victory rallies on or outside the campus, in line with directions issued by the Delhi High Court.
Speaking after his victory, Dabas described the result as a victory for what he called “harmony, patriotism, and the collective strength of the Sangh”. He said the new DUSU leadership would focus on student safety, with safety audits of colleges, hostels and paying guest accommodations among his priorities.
“Our primary concern will be ensuring that a safety audit is conducted for every PG and hostel,” Dabas said, referring to the accident 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.”
Dabas also said ABVP had retained its 3-1 result from the previous election and added that the organisation would aim for a clean sweep in the next DUSU polls.
Shokeen said he was grateful to students who supported his independent campaign and said he wanted the union to remain accountable to the student community.
“It feels wonderful that the students lived up to the trust I placed in them,” he said. “The students ran my entire election campaign themselves and supported me immensely.”
Reflecting on his campaign, Shokeen said walking barefoot during the election served as a reminder of the difficulties faced by students. He said he intended to use his position to raise those concerns and give students a stronger voice.
“This time, there will be an accountable DUSU,” he said.
The results came after a closely watched contest involving the ABVP, NSUI and the AISA-SFI alliance, along with independent candidates. A total of 20 candidates contested the four central posts. Seven candidates were in the fray for President, five for Vice-President, four for Secretary and four for Joint Secretary.
Former NSUI DUSU president Arun Hooda criticised the ABVP and BJP following the results. He claimed that students were voting against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over issues including employment, educational courses, hostels, fee waivers and the safety of female students.
“This is the consequence of their actions. They told so many lies,” Hooda said, while raising questions over promises of jobs and other student-related issues.
Earlier in the counting process, DUSU President Aryan Maan had expressed confidence that ABVP would win all four posts. He also said the organisation had worked throughout the year and argued that “Gen Z stands with the ABVP” because, according to him, nationalism resonated with young voters.
Polling for the DUSU elections concluded on Friday across 52 polling centres in Delhi University. Voter turnout stood at 40.46 per cent, the highest recorded in the last three years. Turnout was 39.5 per cent in the previous election.
The new results mean ABVP has again secured three of the four central DUSU posts, while the Vice-President’s position has gone to an independent candidate.
(With ANI inputs)
