NSUI clinches shock win in Dusu polls

New Delhi: Shockwaves ran through the saffron camp on Wednesday as the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) made a stunning comeback by winning two posts, including that of the president, in the Dusu (Delhi University Students Union) elections.

For both the Congress and the BJP, Dusu polls are a significant indicator of the mood of the youth in the national capital.

Till Tuesday night, the BJP was confident that RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which has a strong grip over Dusu, would capture all the four seats.

But early on Wednesday, the election office declared that NSUI had won three posts, but “revised” the result later. NSUI said that it will go to the Delhi high court to challenge the result, insisting that it had been “manipulated by the right-wing ABVP”.

It is reliably learnt that BJP chief Amit Shah is not happy with the poll results.

Overwhelmed by the stunning performance of the party’s student wing, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi thanked the “students of DU for reposing faith in Congress ideology”. Winners of the top two posts — president Rocky Tuseed and vice-president Kunal Sehrawat — also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Just recently the the BJP had suffered a humiliating defeat by loosing the by-polls in the Bawana Assembly seat in Delhi. The seat had fallen vacant after AAP legislator Ved Prakash had resigned to join the BJP ahead of civic elections in Delhi.

The DUSU results are a clear indication that the Congress has been regaining its hold among the youth. Earlier, the youth wing of the Congress had won the student elections in Rajasthan, which is ruled by the BJP, and in Punjab, where the Congress registered a resounding victory in the Assembly elections.

Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken, who was actively monitoring NSUI’s poll campaign, attributed the victory to Mr Gandhi’s recent speech in the United States.