DUSU Elections Today: ABVP vs NSUI vs AISA-SFI – Key Candidates, Issues, Polling Time & Supreme Court Warning | Today’s news

Today’s DUSU polls: Polling for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections is scheduled today. Major student organisations, including ABVP, NSUI and the AISA-SFI alliance, are contesting the most closely watched university student union elections in the country.

Voting will take place on Friday, voting for day courses from 8.30am to 1pm and evening courses from 3pm to 7.30pm. Counting of votes is scheduled for September 19 in the Multipurpose Hall, University Sports Stadium, North Campus.

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The results will determine the composition of the DUSU Central Panel for the 2026-2027 academic session.

The election takes on even more significance as it comes weeks after the Satya Niketan tragedy in the national capital that left seven dead, including students. The election also comes months after student protests at Jantar Mantar led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

A total of 1,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been deployed, of which 960 will be operational on Friday and 40 on standby, according to university officials.

“A total of 12 control rooms will be functional on Friday. In case of EVM malfunction, experts will be available to repair them promptly,” Chief Electoral Officer Raj Kishore Sharma told PTI.

Sharma added that once the polls are closed, the EVMs will be safely transported by the police to the multi-purpose hall where they will be opened at the time of counting of votes on Saturday.

Who are the key players?

The contest for the four central panel posts namely president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary is expected to witness an intense battle between the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Congress-backed National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Left alliance of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

The university has restricted vehicular movement on key stretches including Chhatra Marg, Probyn Road and University Road ahead of the election process, while student organizations are taking their campaigns to classrooms, university campuses and social media.

According to the university notice, traffic restrictions will be in place on Friday and Saturday until the results are announced.

What happened in the polls in 2025?

In the 2025 elections, the RSS-affiliated ABVP won three of the four central panel posts, including the post of president, while the NSUI secured the post of vice president.

Aryan Maan of ABVP won the post of President with 28,841 votes while Rahul Jhansla of NSUI secured the post of Vice President with 29,339 votes. ABVP candidates Kunal Chaudhary and Deepika Jha became secretary and joint secretary after defeating their opponents.

Who are your key candidates?

This year, ABVP fielded Yash Dabas as president, Isha Maurya as vice president, Riya Chhawadi as secretary and Lakshya Raj Singh as joint secretary.

Dabas, who hails from Kanjhawala in Delhi, studies in the Department of Buddhist Studies and is an international tennis player. He has participated in ITF competitions in Spain, Australia and Serbia, ABVP reports.

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Maurya, a law student at the Campus Law Centre, has been associated with the ABVP since 2021, while Chhawadi is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Sri Aurobindo College and an inter-university basketball player. Singh, who also practices law at the Campus Law Centre, has represented India in handball at the Asian Games and the World Cup, the organization said.

NSUI nominated Vijay Shankar Meena as President, Vir Chatrath as Vice President, Namrat Chaudhary as Secretary and Gopal Choudhary as Joint Secretary.

The organization said its campaign will focus on putting “students’ interests first” and building a “prosperous, safe and better” university in Delhi.

Its “My Campus, My Manifesto” campaign received several proposals from students, with the initiative aiming to incorporate their concerns into the election manifesto, members said.

ABVP’s ‘My DU, My Manifesto’ campaign similarly sought feedback from students, while the organization highlighted issues related to students’ social conditions and campus facilities.

The AISA-SFI alliance has nominated Ananya Raturi as President, Akshat Shikhar as Vice President, Stanzin Deskyong as Secretary and B Parijaat as Joint Secretary.

The alliance described its panel as representing “alternative politics” and said it would work to build a student-led DUSU while opposing the “politics of money and muscle”.

ABVP won 6 out of 10 elections

During the past decade, ABVP won the post of DUSU president six times, while NSUI secured it twice, in 2017-18 and 2024. Elections were not held for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year’s election process was smoother than the previous year, with fewer cases of malfeasance and fewer victory parades. Chief Electoral Officer Sharma described the conduct of the polls as “very smooth and satisfactory”, with a voter turnout of 39.45 percent.

The 2026 elections will be conducted in accordance with the DUSU Code of Conduct, its Constitution and relevant guidelines High CourtDelhi High Court and National Green Tribunal.

What are the key issues?

Student safety and accommodation emerged as an important point of inquiry after, among other things, the collapse of the Satya Niketan building earlier this month, which claimed seven lives, including students. The incident has renewed attention on the availability and safety of student housing in the state capital.

The alliance raised demands for affordable accommodation and hostel facilities, while the ABVP highlighted its housing agenda, including proposals for a student housing cell and security audits.

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Ahead of the vote, students submitted a mix of everyday campus demands and more light-hearted election wishes — from working water coolers and reliable Wi-Fi to better lineups for college festivals and even discounted Diet Coke.

For fresher Ronil Batra of Sri Venkateswara College, upgrading the canteen is a priority, with affordable Diet Coke high on the list. He wants the drink to be available at discounted prices in college cafeterias or through vending machines, especially during exam season.

“Diet Coke is basically Gen Z’s drink and fuel during the exam period,” Batra told Hindustan Times. “Give us Diet Coke and you will see our productivity double.” He adds that candidates who succeed would get his vote “immediately”.

For fresher Gayatri Dave of Kirori Mal College, the focus is on college festivals and their promised headliners. He wants festival committees to bring in artists students really enjoy watching, rather than artists who fail to draw crowds.

“Every year, the university festival committees promise a ‘big artist surprise,'” Dave said, according to HT, adding that students should get a line-up “that we’re happy to skip classes for.”

On Gargi Collegethe requirement is more fundamental: access to clean drinking water. First-year student Sanya says students often struggle to find working water coolers as broken equipment, dirty water and empty dispensers force them to buy bottled water between classes.

“This is not a demand for AC classrooms, but for clean water that works,” she told Hindustan Times. “How come this is going to be discussed every election?”

Another issue is reliable campus connectivity. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College fresher Kishank Singh says the college’s Wi-Fi frequently disconnects, forcing students to rely on mobile data during submissions and study sessions.

“It disconnects every ten minutes and is basically useless,” says Singh. “Fix this one thing and honestly, it’s half the manifesto sorted.”

History of DUSU

The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) traces its origins to August 6, 1947, when the university first considered a proposal to form a representative body for its students, just days before India awoke to freedom at the stroke of midnight.

University records seen by news agency PTI reveal that on August 6, 1947, the Vice-Chancellor informed the Executive Council that a representative body of students wished to form a university student union.

The evolution of the student union over the decades reflects the changing nature of student politics and representation at Delhi University, news agency PTI reported.

High Court Warning

The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over alleged incidents of violence and hooliganism during the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election campaign and warned that it would suspend the counting of votes and declaration of results if the authorities did not take satisfactory action against “unruly behaviour”, legal news website Bar and Bench reported.

Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia emphasized that “criminal” behavior cannot be justified in the name of democracy and asked the Delhi Police and Delhi University to file status reports by Friday.

“The court will not accept any excuses. We make it clear that while we are not delaying or postponing the election, if we are not satisfied with your course of action, we can issue stricter orders tomorrow, including suspension of counting and declaration of results,” the bench said.

“We feel that if such drastic orders are not taken, no one will cope and it is very sad. Please tell us if you are unable to control the situation. We know how to do it. This cannot be allowed,” the statement further said.

The court said lawyers representing various student organizations should appear for the hearing on Friday.

Defender Prashant Manchanda said that Wednesday was the “blackest day” in the history of DUSU elections when certain persons hijacked the DU North Campus area and professors and students were beaten up.

Manchanda’s latest application alleged that this year election campaigns witnessed violence, vandalism, large-scale mobilization and entry of foreigners and use of fleets of high-end vehicles, including cars without number plates, etc., which was totally against norms.

The court said the material before it showed “utter failure” on the part of the authorities and students to ensure the smooth conduct of the DU elections and compliance with the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee report and the orders of the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Enough is enough: HC

The court noticed that the material showed cars without number plates and some incriminating pictures were even placed on the official handles of the candidates.

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The bench, which had initially verbally noted that it would postpone the election, argued that the primary responsibility for such “reckless and criminal conduct” rested with the students and questioned why DU and police authorities were unable to check the presence of “outsiders” and control the situation.

That’s enough. You (students) beat up your own teachers in the name of being creative and brandishing guns.

“Enough is enough. You (students) are beating up your own teachers in the name of creativity, brandishing guns. You (DU) are just saying that you cannot control anything. We will leave the elections. If you are not able to control, quit your job. Your own daughter, my niece is studying in the north campus. What will happen to them,” the court asked.