Voting underway for Delhi University students' union elections 2024

DUSU elections 2024: A total of 21 candidates are contesting the election, with eight vying for the president's post, five for vice president, and four each for the secretary and joint secretary positions.

In Short

• DUSU elections started today across north and south campuses
• 1.4 lakh students eligible to vote in two phases
• 21 candidates contesting for president, VP, secretary, and joint secretary

Voting for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections commenced today, September 27, 2024, across both the north and south campuses of the university. Thousands of students from various DU colleges are heading to the polls to elect new representatives for key positions, including president, vice president, secretary, and joint secretary.

This year's election sees 1.4 lakh eligible voters participating in two phases. Morning college students can cast their votes until 1 p.m., while evening college students will vote from 3 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

A total of 21 candidates are contesting the election, with eight vying for the president's post, five for vice president, and four each for the secretary and joint secretary positions. The main contenders in this year’s election are the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and a left-wing alliance of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

The fight for the president’s position is expected to be intense, with ABVP's Rishabh Chaudhary, NSUI’s Rounak Khatri, and AISA’s Saavy Gupta leading the race. Rishabh Chaudhary, a graduate of Shyam Lal College and a student in the Department of Buddhist Studies, represents the ABVP, while NSUI’s Rounak Khatri and AISA’s Saavy Gupta, a third-year law student, are expected to give him stiff competition.

In the race for vice president, ABVP’s Bhanu Pratap Singh is competing against NSUI’s Yash Nandal and AISA’s Ayush Mondal. The secretary position sees ABVP’s Mitravinda Karanwal, a third-year History (Hons) student, facing off against NSUI’s Namrata Jeph Meena and SFI’s Anamika K, a Political Science master’s student. For the joint secretary position, ABVP’s Aman Kapasia is up against NSUI’s Lokesh Choudhary and SFI’s Sneha Aggarwal.

While voting continues, the Delhi High Court has ordered a halt to vote counting until all posters, hoardings, and graffiti are removed, and public property is restored. The court issued this directive on Thursday.

As it stands, the RSS-affiliated ABVP currently holds most of the key positions in the student body, including president, vice president, and secretary, while the NSUI holds the joint secretary post.