the NSUI – student wing of the Congress party – suffered a major setback as it drew blank While the ABVP – affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS ) – marked a big win in Delhi University Students’ Union elections on Saturday.
Interestingly, Deepanshu Shokeen, who won the vice president post as an Independent candidate, was denied a ticket by the National Students’ Union of India ( NSUI ). The NSUI drew a blank, though its candidates lost the posts of president and joint secretary by narrow margins. ABVP ‘s Yash Dabas secured the president’s post and the RSS affiliate party also clinched two other top posts. A closely watched contest in student politics, ABVP’s big win drew major political reactions as the BJP took potshots at the Congress given LoP Rahul Gandhi’s recent youth outreach campaign under ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’.
Dabas polled 24,576 votes, defeating NSUI’s Vijai Shankar Meena by a margin of 2,053 votes. Shokeen won the vice-president’s post with 30,615 votes.
Union home minister Amit Shah congratulated the ABVP and said the win ‘reflects the unwavering trust of the youth in the council’s ideology of “Nation First” and its commitment to student welfare.’. In a dig at the Congress, BJP national media co-convener Sidharth Yadav said the ABVP victory reflected students’ rejection of what he described as “politics of lies, deceit and propaganda,” Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also took a jibe at Gandhi and said, “Despite all the attempts by Congress and Rahul Gandhi to influence the student elections with the Jhooth ki Goonj (echo of their lies), Gen Z has chosen the ideology of national interest with its wisdom. The new DUSU president also took a swipe at Gandhi and said, “We want Rahul Gandhi to become even more involved in student politics, because the more involved he gets, the further NSUI declines.”
