ABVP wins DUSU election; bags president, 2 other key posts
What's the story
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has won the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) election, bagging three out of four positions: the president, secretary, and joint secretary. Aryan Maan was elected DUSU President, defeating Joslyn Nandita Choudhary of the National Students's Union of India (NSUI). The vice president position was won by NSUI's Rahul Jhansla. Maan will succeed NSUI's Ronak Khatri.
Candidate profiles
Maan campaigned on issues like subsidized metro passes
Maan, a Department of Library Science student from Bahadurgarh, Haryana, had campaigned on issues like subsidized metro passes and free Wi-Fi. His NSUI rival Choudhary is a postgraduate student of Buddhist Studies who focused her campaign on hostel shortages and campus safety. The DUSU election also saw Anjali from the Students's Federation of India-All India Students's Association (SFI-AISA) alliance contesting for president. She campaigned for gender sensitization and the reintroduction of grievance redressal systems, among others.
Candidates
Secretary, joint secretary positions
The secretary post was won by ABVP's Kunal Chaudhary, while Deepika Jha (ABVP) won the joint secretary position. More than 2.75 lakh students voted in the DUSU elections on Thursday, which took place across 50 colleges. Polling took place in 52 centers with 195 booths and 711 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The final turnout was 39.45%. This year, 21 contenders competed for the four positions. Nine people contested for the presidency, with the remaining 12 contesting the other three positions.
Election significance
DUSU elections as a launchpad for national politics
This year's DUSU election campaign was noticeably different. For the first time in years, the walls of the university's colleges and dormitories remained free of posters and graffiti as the authorities carefully implemented anti-defacement measures under the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines. The DUSU elections are often seen as a launchpad for national politics. Several prominent politicians, including Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and former Union Minister Arun Jaitley, began their careers here.