ABVP wins three DUSU posts; independent Deepanshu Shokeen takes vice-president seat

ElevenAM Desk | New Delhi | 19 September 2026 | 4:00 PM IST

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad won three of the four central panel posts in the Delhi University Students’ Union election on Saturday, retaining its grip over one of the country’s most closely watched campus contests. Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen, who entered the race after being denied an NSUI ticket, won the vice-president’s post.

ABVP candidate Yash Dabas won the presidential contest with 24,576 votes, defeating Congress-backed NSUI candidate Vijai Shankar Meena by 2,053 votes. The organisation also secured the secretary and joint secretary posts, giving it three positions on the four-member central panel.

Shokeen’s victory in the vice-presidential race was the principal break from the ABVP sweep. He polled 30,615 votes, emerging as a significant independent force in an election otherwise dominated by established student organisations.

The result followed a counting process in which the presidential lead changed hands several times. Early and intermediate rounds showed a close contest between ABVP and NSUI, with Meena moving ahead at one stage before Dabas recovered the lead in the later rounds.

The election was held against a backdrop of concerns over student housing, campus infrastructure, safety and academic administration. Campaigning also reflected the increasingly important role of social media and highly organised ground mobilisation in university politics.

More than 2,000 police and paramilitary personnel had been deployed across Delhi University during counting, with restrictions around key roads and the counting centre. Authorities had also placed limits on victory processions as part of measures to prevent disorder after the declaration of results.

The outcome gives ABVP a strong position in the DUSU central panel for the 2026-27 academic session. The organisation had also won three posts last year, while NSUI held the vice-presidency. This year, however, the vice-president’s seat moved to an independent candidate, leaving NSUI without a central panel post.