New Delhi [India], September 19 (ANI): Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate Yash Dabas was elected as the President of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) and Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen won the Vice President post as the counting of votes for the student body elections concluded on Saturday.
ABVP secured three of the four key posts in the DUSU elections, with Yash Dabas winning the President post, Riya Chhawdi securing the Secretary position and Lakshya Raj Singh winning the Joint Secretary post. Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen, a former NSUI member, emerged victorious for the Vice President post.
According to the final vote tally after 20 rounds of counting, Yash Dabas won the President post with 24,576 votes, defeating National Students' Union of India (NSUI) candidate Vijay Meena, who secured 22,523 votes.
In the Vice President election, Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen won with 30,615 votes. ABVP's Ishu Maurya received 16,910 votes, while NSUI's Virr Chatrath secured 4,313 votes.
For the Secretary post, ABVP's Riya Chhawdi emerged victorious with 21,650 votes, defeating NSUI's Namrata Chaudhary, who received 14,869 votes.
In the Joint Secretary election, ABVP's Lakshya Raj Singh won with 16,641 votes. Independent candidate Vishesh Yadav secured 15,778 votes, while NSUI's Gopal Choudhary received 15,106 votes.
After his victory, ABVP's newly elected DUSU President Dabas said the result was a reflection of the collective support of students.
Yash Dabas said, "It is a victory of harmony, patriotism, and the collective strength of the Sangh. Students from institutions ranging from PU to DU have worked to ensure our victory. NSUI has been completely wiped out from the campus; NSUI lost 4-0. Our primary concern will be ensuring that a safety audit is conducted for every PG and hostel. We all witnessed the accident that occurred in Satya Niketan; we do not want such an incident to happen to anyone in the future, and that will be our first priority—conducting safety audits for every college, hostel, and PG. The Vidyarthi Parishad won 3-1 last time and has won 3-1 this time as well; next time, we will win 4-0."
The DUSU election campaign focused on key student issues, including safety, accommodation, campus infrastructure, academic facilities and social justice. Student housing remained a major concern following the Satya Niketan building collapse in Delhi, which claimed seven lives, including five students. The incident had earlier led to protests by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students' Union of India (NSUI), demanding accountability and action against those responsible.
A total of 20 candidates representing major student organisations, including ABVP, NSUI, and the alliance of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI), contested the elections. According to the final provisional candidate list, seven candidates were in the fray for the post of President, five for Vice-President, four for Secretary, and four for Joint Secretary.
Polling for the DUSU elections concluded on Friday after voting was conducted in two phases across 52 polling centres in Delhi University. A total voter turnout of 40.46 per cent was recorded, the highest in the last three years. Last year, the turnout stood at 39.5 per cent.
Ahead of the announcement of the final results, ABVP has claimed victories in several college-level elections. The organisation won all four key posts at Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Sri Aurobindo College (Morning), Dr BR Ambedkar College, Bharati College and Shivaji College. (ANI)
ABVP's Yash Dabas wins DUSU President post, Independent Deepanshu Shokeen elected Vice President
