ABVP takes three key DUSU posts, independent Deepanshu Shokeen wins VP seat

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) secured three of the four key posts in the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections on Saturday, while independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen made a striking breakthrough by winning the vice-president's post.

ABVP's Yash Dabas was elected DUSU president, Riya Chhawdi won the secretary's post and Lakshya Raj Singh emerged victorious as joint secretary. Shokeen, who contested independently after being denied an NSUI ticket, won the vice-president's post with 30,615 votes.

The results gave ABVP the president, secretary and joint secretary positions, while the vice-president's post went to Shokeen, who had earlier been associated with the Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI).

In the presidential contest, Dabas polled 24,576 votes to defeat NSUI's Vijay Shankar Meena, who secured 22,523 votes. Dabas won by a margin of 2,053 votes.

Chhawdi secured 21,650 votes to win the secretary's post, finishing ahead of NSUI's Namrata Chaudhary, who polled 14,869 votes.

The joint secretary contest was much closer. ABVP's Lakshya Raj Singh secured 16,615 votes, narrowly defeating Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha candidate Vishesh Yadav, who polled 15,778 votes. NSUI's Gopal Choudhary finished with 15,206 votes.

Shokeen emerged as the highest vote-getter among the four winners. His victory was particularly notable as he entered the contest as an independent after failing to secure an NSUI ticket.

Speaking after his victory, Shokeen said students themselves drove his campaign and expressed satisfaction at being able to establish himself as their representative.

"It feels wonderful that the students lived up to the trust I placed in them. The students ran my entire election campaign themselves and supported me immensely," he told ANI.

Shokeen said his campaign also reflected the everyday difficulties faced by students. He chose to walk barefoot during the campaign, saying the physical discomfort reminded him of the challenges faced by students across the university.

"The physical discomfort of walking barefoot served as a constant reminder. It reminded me that the 1.5 lakh students studying at the university also face various difficulties in their daily lives," he said.

He added that he had resolved to work towards addressing those concerns if given an opportunity.

Counting for the DUSU elections was held at the Multipurpose Hall of the University Sports Stadium in North Campus amid heightened security arrangements.

The elections were conducted in two phases across 52 polling centres. A total of 20 candidates contested the four central-panel posts, with major student organisations including ABVP, NSUI and the AISA-SFI alliance in the fray.

Voter turnout stood at 40.46%, up from 39.45% in 2025 and the highest in the last three years, according to election-day reports.