ABVP sweeps DUSU poll, wins 3 of 4 seats

Tribune News Service

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, September 23

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Saturday swept the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, bagging three seats, including that of the president while National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) managed to clinch only one seat in the four-member union.

The RSS-affiliated ABVP won the seats of DUSU president, secretary and joint secretary by hefty margins. Tushar Dedha of ABVP won the president’s post garnering 21,555 votes to defeat NSUI’s Hitesh Gulia by 3,720 votes.

ABVP candidate Aparajita won the secretary’s post with 22,562 votes defeating Congress-backed NSUI’s Yakshna Sharma by a staggering margin of 12,820 votes. For joint secretary, Sachin Baisla of ABVP won by 9,775 votes leaving behind NSUI’s Shubham Kumar who secured 13,058 votes.

The lone NSUI candidate to emerge victorious was Abhi Dahiya who defeated his nearest rival of ABVP Sushant Dhankar for DUSU vice-president’s post by a narrow margin of 840 votes.

Chief Election Officer Prof Chander Shekhar said, “The candidates have accepted the results and there has been no issue with the counting process.”

Talking to reporters after the DUSU election results were declared, Dedha said, “ABVP’s dedication to issue-based campaigning resonated with the diverse student body of Delhi University. The substantial margins of our victories signify the deep trust and faith students have in ABVP’s ability to work for their welfare.”

NSUI and ABVP members held their posts on the two ends of Chhatra Marg on the DU North Campus, bursting crackers and raising slogans as the results were declared.

ABVP Delhi state secretary Harsh Attri said, “The ratio with which ABVP has won the students’ mandate tells us that students want the ABVP to continue in the university. The achievements that ABVP attained in the past four years have been appreciated by the students. So they gave us a 3-1 victory by a huge margin.”

This year’s DUSU elections saw a repeat of results from 2019 when NSUI’s Ashish Lamba had secured the secretary’s post for the Congress’ student wing.

Unlike Jawaharlal Nehru University where the Left has dominated the student union, Delhi University has been a stronghold of the right wing. In the past 10 DUSU elections, ABVP has emerged victorious on 29 out of 40 seats.

Earlier, counting began at 8 am on Saturday at the conference centre on DU North Campus. The Chhatra Marg was turned into a fortress with barricading from both the sides of the road. An official said, “Seven companies of battalion forces and 300 Delhi Police officials were stationed to manage security inside the campus.”