New Delhi, September 19 – The third round of vote counting for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections revealed a split outcome across the four central offices. National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) candidate Vijay Meena retained the lead for the presidency, while independent contender Deepanshu Shokeen surged ahead in the vice‑president contest. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) maintained an advantage in the secretary race, and an independent candidate also headed the joint‑secretary tally.
Presidential race remains in NSUI’s favour
At the close of the third counting round, Vijay Meena of NSUI held a cumulative total of 3,571 votes, putting him 441 votes ahead of his nearest rival, ABVP’s Yash Dabas, who has amassed 3,130 votes. Left‑aligned candidate Ananya Raturi trails further behind with 653 votes. In the latest round alone, Meena secured 859 votes compared with Dabas’s 682, reinforcing his position at the top of the presidential leaderboard.
Independent candidate leads vice‑president, ABVP wins secretary
Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen recorded a decisive surge in the third round, adding 1,008 votes to bring his cumulative total to 4,264 – the highest count among all contenders for vice‑president. ABVP’s Ishu Maurya occupies second place with 2,389 votes, while NSUI’s Veer Chatrath stands third with 664 votes. Left‑backed candidate Akshat Shikhar trails with 282 votes.
In the secretary contest, ABVP’s Riya Chhawdi emerged as the front‑runner, reaching 2,805 votes after receiving 659 in the third round. Her closest challenger, NSUI’s Namrata Chaudhary, is positioned at 2,332 votes, and Left nominee Stanzin Deskyong holds 1,225 votes.
The joint‑secretary race remains tightly contested. Independent Vishesh Yadav leads with a cumulative 2,598 votes, having added 553 in the latest count. ABVP’s Lakshya Raj Singh follows with 2,199 votes, while NSUI’s Gopal Choudhary is third at 1,958 votes after a round‑high 558 votes in the third round. Left candidate B Parijat trails with 811 votes.
Election logistics, turnout and candidate field
Vote counting for the DUSU 2026 elections began on Saturday at the Multipurpose Hall of the University Sports Stadium on Delhi University’s North Campus. Results for the four central posts – president, vice‑president, secretary and joint‑secretary – are expected to be announced later in the day.
Polling concluded on Friday after two phases of voting across 52 university polling centres. The first phase ran from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and a second evening phase for students with later schedules was held from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Turnout reached 40.46 percent, the highest level recorded in the last three years. By comparison, the previous year’s participation stood at 39.5 percent.
For the election, 1,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were prepared; 960 were deployed for actual voting while 40 were kept in reserve. A total of 20 candidates representing major student organisations – including ABVP, NSUI and a coalition of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) – contested the four central positions.
The provisional candidate list indicated seven aspirants for president, five for vice‑president, and four each for secretary and joint‑secretary. The primary contest remains between ABVP and NSUI. ABVP fielded Yash Dabas for president and Ishu Maurya for vice‑president, while NSUI nominated Vijay Shankar Meena for president and Veer Chatrath for vice‑president.
As the counting progresses, the split outcomes suggest a fragmented student electorate, with NSUI and ABVP each securing leadership in different offices and independents making significant inroads, particularly in the vice‑president and joint‑secretary posts. The final declaration of winners later today will determine the composition of the DUSU executive for the coming term.
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