DUSU polls: ABVP retains president seat in close battle, sweeps two other posts
The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election results for 2026 have been declared, with ABVP’s Yash Dabas winning the post of president, independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen elected vice-president, ABVP’s Riya Chhawdi securing the secretary and Lakshya Raj Singh winning the joint secretary posts.
The results came after a closely fought contest between the major student organisations, with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the AISA-SFI alliance contesting the four central posts. Independent and other candidates also remained in contention for key positions.
The counting of votes began at 8 am on Saturday, September 19, at the Multipurpose Hall of the University Sports Stadium in North Campus. The contest remained close through several rounds, particularly in the presidential race, where the lead changed hands during the counting process.
Yash Dabas emerged victorious in the presidential contest, defeating Vijay Meena from NSUI. The vice-president post is won by Deepanshu Shokeen votes against ABVP's Ishu Maurya and NSUI's Virr Chatrath.
For the secretary post, Riya Chhawdi defeated NSUI's Namrata Chaudhary. The joint secretary election is won by Lakshya Raj Singh, defeating NSUI's Gopal Choudhary and Vishesh Yadav from Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha.VOTER COUNT, POSTS, AND MORE
The 2026 DUSU election witnessed an overall voter turnout of 40.46 per cent, based on voting data received from all 52 polling centres. More than 1.51 lakh students were eligible to vote in the election. Voting for day-college students was held from 8:30 am to 1 pm on Friday, while evening-college students voted between 3 pm and 7:30 pm.
The election was held for four central posts — president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary — with a total of 20 candidates in the fray. ABVP and NSUI fielded candidates for all four posts, while AISA and SFI contested together. Several independent candidates also emerged as significant contenders during the campaign and counting process.
The contest this year remained particularly close, with the lead shifting across rounds and candidates from different groups emerging ahead at different stages of counting. The changing trends kept the final outcome uncertain until the last rounds.
The election was also conducted amid heightened security following concerns over violence and hooliganism during campaigning. The Delhi High Court had barred victory processions, drums and other celebratory displays after the results, while seeking responses from political organisations on issues related to campaigning and alleged violations.
With the declaration of the results, the new DUSU central panel will now take charge for the 2026-27 academic session.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Sep 19, 2026 16:19 ISTRead | Can the DUSU President fix hostels, fees and student problems?Read | Meet Deepanshu Shokeen, Independent candidate who won DUSU Vice-President post
