National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) candidate Shantanu Sekhar celebrates after winning the Patna University Students’ Union (PUSU) election president post during the counting of votes at Art College in Patna, Sunday, March 1, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI
On Saturday (February 28, 2026), the Patna University Students’ Union (PUSU) late night result declaration held the fort after a long time with the National Students Union of India (NSUI) Congress party’s student wing winning the post of president and general secretary.
The student wing of the BJP Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has filled the posts of joint secretary and treasurer.
However, the voting percentage this time was abysmally low at 37.84%, while last year (2025) it was 45.25%. There were several stray incidents of violence and firing on the campus on the day of the polls, even as police were deployed on the campus to conduct polling peacefully.
“It was due to following strict survey guidelines and disinterestedness, dull and studious attitude of students towards the campus elections, the vote percentage this time fell by almost 7%,” Chief Electoral Officer and Patna Science College Professor Shankar Kumar told The Hindu.
In 1980 NSUI candidate Anil Sharma and in 1984 Shambhu Sharma got the post of university presidents.
NSUI candidate Shantanu Shekhar and Khushi Kumari won the post of president and general secretary after a long time on Saturday (February 28, 2026). “Although the election was not held on political party lines, it is time for the BJP to reflect on how the party in power in the state is in coalition with other parties and has all the MLAs of Patna urban area,” said senior Patna journalist Manish Kumar.
In the ruling NDA, BJP along with JD-U and other allies are in power in Bihar and earlier its multi-time youth party MLA from Bankipore Patna constituency Nitin Nabin was very interested in PUSU elections.
Mr. Nabin, 45, was elected as the party’s national chairman in January 2026 this year.
Earlier, several well-known political figures of the state occupied prestigious posts in the Patna University Students’ Union. Former Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Deputy Chief Minister and senior state BJP leader late Sushil Kumar Modi and former Union Minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad were elected PUSU President, General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary respectively in 1973.
Former union minister and senior BJP state official Ashwani Kumar Choubey was also elected as PUSU president in 1978.
NSUI candidates for the post of PUSU president and general secretary Shantanu Shekhar this time defeated nearest JD-U rival Prince Kumar by 1496 votes, while Khushi Kumari defeated her opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal rival Pratyush Raj by 553 votes.
However, ABVP’s Abhishek Kumar and Harshvardhan won the post of joint secretary and treasurer defeating NSUI and JD-U candidates respectively.
The voting percentage was highest in Patna Law College (50.66%) and Patna Science College (45.7%), while the lowest percentage was reported from BN College (21.2%) and Magadh Mahila College (21.72%).
For the first time, girl Independent candidate Shifat Faiz won the post of Union Vice President defeating JD-U candidate Ayush Harsh by 71 votes.
Congratulating the winning candidates, state Congress leader and former party MLC Prem Chandra Mishra said, “The victory of NSUI candidates for the post of president and general secretary reflects the thoughts of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi”. Party spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari also congratulated the winning candidates and said, “The result shows the true mood of the youth in the state”.
Published – March 1, 2026 11:30 AM IST
