New Delhi: The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Friday won three posts, including that of the president, in the Delhi University Students’ Union (Dusu) polls while the Congress-backed NSUI won the secretary’s post.
Ashwit Dahiya of ABVP defeated National Students’ Union of India’s (NSUI) Chetna Tyagi for the president’s post with a margin of over 19,000 votes.
The posts of vice president and joint secretary were won by ABVP’s Pradeep Tanwar and Shivangi Kharwal by a margin of 8,574 and 2,914 votes respectively.
The NSUI bagged the secretary’s post with its candidate Ashish Lamba defeating ABVP’s Yogi Rathee by a margin of 2,053 votes.
Congratulating the ABVP workers, Union home minister and BJP president Amit Shah said that the victory showcases the commitment of the youth towards nationalism. “This is also a step forward towards building New India,” he tweeted.
Describing the ABVP’s big win in the DUSU elections as ‘historic,’ BJP working president J.P. Nadda said that it is a victory of ‘nationalist ideology’ among students.
“Congratulations to the ABVP for its historic win in the DUSU polls by bagging three seats. These youngsters are our country’s future and every worker of the ABVP is dedicated to the society and organisation. This is a victory of nationalist ideology among students,” Mr Nadda tweeted. Touching on his ABVP background, Mr Nadda said that it is a matter of pride for him that he worked in the organisation.
Reacting to the results, NSUI Delhi president Akshay Lakra said, “ABVP fielded Yogi Rathee, who was the president of Ramjas College when the violence took place in 2017. The students have given a clear mandate against violence.”
Celebrations broke out outside the counting centre in Kingsway Camp with supporters dancing to ‘dhol’ beats and rose petals being showered on the winners.
The voter turnout in the DUSU polls on Thursday was recorded at 39.90 per cent, over four percentage points down from last year. Last year, the election saw a 44.46 per cent voter turnout.
The polling for the four positions of the DUSU ended amid allegations of EVM malfunctioning. Sixteen candidates, including four women, were in the fray and 52 polling centres were set up. Over 1.3 lakh students were eligible to cast their votes. As many as 144 EVMs were used for the students’ Union polls and 137 for the college Union polls.
