DUSU elections on Sep 18, over 2.75 lakh students eligible to vote

The stage is set for over 2.75 lakh students to vote in the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections 2026 on Sep 18 amid high security and the deployment of more than 600 police personnel across the campus, an official said.

As Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh directed all colleges to beef up security arrangements, the Delhi Police decided to equip its officers, more than 150 in number, with body-worn cameras to capture the developments during voting.

In addition, CCTV cameras and drones will be used to monitor polling day activities, said an official, adding that women constables will be posted in women’s colleges to ensure smooth conduct of polls using EVMs.

The high-stakes student union elections are primarily a direct fight between the RSS and BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and the results will be declared on Saturday.

Yash Dabas of ABVP is pitted against Vijay Shankar Meena of NSUI for the post of DUSU President. In all, 25 candidates are contesting for the President’s post.

After the scrutiny of nominations for all the posts, as many as 20 candidates were approved for the post of vice president, 24 for secretary and 19 for joint secretary.

The DUSU 2026 elections have assumed special significance as they come in the backdrop of the Gen Z protest at Jantar Mantar in July over exam irregularities and a PG building collapse of Satya Niketan in south Delhi, exposing the chronic shortage of hostels in the university.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also been trying to connect with the students through his series of meetings under “Chhatron ki goonj”.

Fresh students enrolled in DU colleges or departments this year are also eligible to vote. First-year students can cast their vote by producing a valid fee receipt along with a government-issued ID such as Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID or Driving License if their college ID has not been issued.

Second- and third-year students must carry their valid college identity cards.

As per DUSU guidelines, polling hours are fixed, but all students reporting within the allotted timings must be allowed to cast their votes. Voting will take place on September 18 in two shifts – 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., and the results will be declared on September 19.

The ABVP panel includes Ishu Maurya for the post of Vice-President, Riya Chhawadi for Secretary, and Lakshyaraj Singh for Joint Secretary.

NSUI has named Veer Chhatrath for vice president, Namrata Chaudhary for secretary and Gopal Chaudhary for joint secretary.

Though the DUSU elections have traditionally been a direct fight between the ABVP and NSUI, student outfits of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left also contest these elections.

For DUSU 2026 elections, the AAP’s student wing – Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) – has named Ashmit Kumar Panwar for the President’s post and Pankaj Kumar for Secretary.

The Left-backed All India Students’ Association (AISA) has named Ananya as its presidential candidate.

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