DUSU elections 2026: ABVP retains president's post, independent candidate wins
What's the story
The results of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections for 2026 have been announced. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) retained the president's post with Yash Dabas emerging victorious. Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen was elected vice-president, while Riya Chhawdi and Lakshya Raj Singh from ABVP won the secretary and joint secretary posts respectively.
Results breakdown
Elections were held for 4 central posts
The DUSU elections were fiercely contested among major student organizations, including the ABVP, National Students' Union of India (NSUI), and the AISA-SFI alliance. Independent and other candidates also posed a challenge for key positions.
The counting of votes began at 8:00am on Saturday at the Multipurpose Hall of University Sports Stadium in North Campus.
Presidential contest
Results of presidential and vice-presidential races
In the presidential race, Dabas defeated NSUI's Vijay Meena by a margin of 2,053 votes. He received a total of 24,576 votes against Meena's 22,523.
The vice-presidential post was won by independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen with a lead of 13,705 votes. He got 30,615 votes while ABVP's Ishu Maurya and NSUI's Virr Chatrath trailed behind with 16,910 and 4,313 votes respectively.
Secretary and joint secretary
Secretary and joint secretary posts
In the secretary race, Riya Chhawdi defeated NSUI's Namrata Chaudhary by 6,781 votes. She secured a total of 21,650 votes against Chaudhary's 14,869.
The joint secretary post was won by ABVP's Lakshya Raj Singh with a narrow lead of 863 votes. He got a total of 16,641 votes while Vishesh Yadav from Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha and Gopal Choudhary from NSUI received 15,778 and 15,106 votes respectively.
Voter turnout
Voter turnout at 40.46%
The 2026 DUSU elections witnessed a voter turnout of 40.46%, with over 1.51 lakh students eligible to vote.
The elections were held for four central posts, president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary, with a total of 20 candidates in the fray.
The contest remained close throughout several rounds, with leads changing among different candidates at various stages of counting.
Security measures
Victory processions prohibited by Delhi HC
The elections were conducted amid tight security due to concerns over violence and hooliganism during campaigning.
The Delhi High Court had prohibited victory processions and other celebratory displays after the results.
The new DUSU central panel will now take charge for the 2026-27 academic session, with the panel comprising three ABVP members and an independent candidate.