The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election results have prompted Rahul Gandhi to seek a detailed report from Congress Organisation General Secretary K C Venugopal on the humiliating defeat of the party’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student organisation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), won three of the four central panel posts in the 2026 DUSU elections. Yash Dabas won the president’s post, Riya Chhawdi was elected secretary and Aryan Maan won the joint secretary’s post.
Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen won the vice-president’s post. He had earlier sought an NSUI ticket and later contested as an independent.
According to reports, Gandhi have asked Venugopal to prepare a detailed assessment of NSUI’s performance, including the reasons for the defeat and candidate selection. The report came after his September 19 programme in Indore, where he addressed students under the Congress campaign ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’.
Why DUSU’s verdict is a fatal blow
The NSUI did not win any of the four central posts. The presidential contest was closely fought, with ABVP’s Dabas securing 24,576 votes against NSUI candidate Vijay Shankar Meena’s 22,523 votes. Independent candidate Shokeen won the vice-president’s post with 30,615 votes, while ABVP’s Ishu Maurya received 16,910 votes and NSUI candidate Vir Chatrath got 4,313 votes.
Shokeen’s victory has become one of the biggest talking points from this year’s election because he had earlier sought an NSUI ticket. After entering the contest as an independent, he went on to win the vice-president’s post without the backing of a student organisation. His victory brought an independent candidate back to the DUSU central panel after 17 years.
The result has also raised questions over the selection of NSUI candidates within the Congress student organisation. Shokeen had wanted to contest for vice-president, while the organisation had considered him for another position. He eventually entered the election as an independent after the ticket dispute. These reports have made candidate selection one of the issues expected to feature in the review sought by the Congress leadership.
The most embarrassing detail of the result is not only losing to the ABVP but losing to their own outcast. This proves NSUI did not faced defeat because of a lack of student support, but due to toxic internal factionalism and atrocious ticket selection that handed victory to a rebel.
The defeat came on the heels of Gandhi’s high-profile nation-wide youth campaigns targeting paper leaks and campus issues. Losing North Campus, the epicenter of student activism, shows that Congress’s national narratives are completely failing to convert into grassroots Gen-Z votes on ground zero.
Delhi University sets the tone for urban youth politics across North India. By allowing the ABVP to retain the president, secretary and joint secretary posts, the NSUI has surrendered the narrative on student safety, campus infrastructure and ideological dominance right in the nation’s capital.
DUSU has historically served as the primary nursery for future Congress leaders, MPs and party strategists. A complete whitewash destabilises the pipeline of young, sharp, campus-tested leadership, leaving the Congress party’s youth infrastructure in the national capital effectively leaderless and demoralised.
Gandhi’s questions
Gandhi has sought answers on why the NSUI failed to win even one of the four central posts, what led to the defeat and how candidates were selected. The report said the leadership wants feedback from candidates and NSUI workers before preparing the assessment.
The report has also mentioned the role of NSUI’s leadership in the election campaign and the possibility of organisational action after the review. Any such action would depend on the findings and decisions of the Congress leadership.
The DUSU election was held on September 18, with more than 1.51 lakh students eligible to vote. Turnout was 40.46 per cent.
