The results of the 2026 Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections have delivered a clear electoral setback to the Congress-backed NSUI and the Left alliance of AISA-SFI, with the RSS-affiliated ABVP winning three of the four central panel posts. The result once again places ABVP at the centre of student politics at one of India’s most politically prominent universities.
For the past few months, the newly formed Cockroach Janata Party had tried to instigate students against BJP and its affiliated organisations, well, the students responded to that. Congress had tried to ride that wave with Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chaatron ki goonj’ campaign, however, when real students spoke, their goonj won’t have been music to Congress or CJP ears.
ABVP’s Yash Dabas won the presidential election, defeating NSUI candidate Vijay Shankar Meena, Left candidate Ananya Raturi finished third. The students once again trusted ABVP over NSUI and AISA.
ABVP also won the posts of secretary and joint secretary. Riya Chhawdi was elected secretary, while Lakshya Raj Singh won the joint secretary position. NSUI, despite being one of the principal challengers, failed to win any of the four central panel positions.
The vice-president’s election produced a different outcome. Deepanshu Shokeen, an independent candidate and former NSUI member, won the post with 30,615 votes. ABVP’s Ishu Maurya finished second with 16,910 votes, while NSUI’s Vir Chatrath received 4,313 votes. Shokeen’s victory was particularly notable because he had been denied an NSUI ticket and subsequently contested independently.
The elections were held on September 18, with more than 1.51 lakh students eligible to vote. Turnout was around 40.46 per cent, higher than in the previous two years. The campaign focused on issues including student accommodation, campus facilities, safety and infrastructure, alongside the broader political contest between ABVP, NSUI and the Left alliance.
The result also comes against the backdrop of controversies surrounding the campaign. The election season witnessed allegations of violations of election norms and clashes between supporters of rival student organisations. Security was subsequently tightened during vote counting, with more than 2,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed around the university.
For ABVP, the outcome maintains its strong presence in DUSU. The organisation had also won three of the four central posts in the 2025 election, including the presidency. This year’s result therefore continues its control of most of the central panel, while the independent victory in the vice-president’s race shows that the contest was not simply a straight ABVP-versus-NSUI battle.
The 2026 DUSU verdict consequently reflects several strands of Delhi University’s student politics: the continued organisational strength of ABVP, the challenge faced by Congress-backed NSUI, the limited showing of the Left alliance, and the ability of an independent candidate to break through the established political contest.
