Rahul Grills NSUI Leaders Over DUSU Defeat
Rahul Gandhi questioned NSUI leaders over candidate selection and campaign strategy after the student outfit failed to win a DUSU central-panel seat.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned the leadership of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) over its performance in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, particularly its choice of candidates and campaign presence on campus, party sources said.
At a review meeting with NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar, NSUI president Vinod Jakhar and Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, Gandhi asked why ticket aspirants Deepanshu Shokeen and Vishesh Yadav had not been accommodated, the sources said. He also raised questions about Kumar’s limited presence on the Delhi University campus during the campaign.
Shokeen, who sought an NSUI ticket but contested as an Independent, won the vice-president’s post with 30,615 votes. ABVP candidate Ishu Maurya received 16,910 votes, while NSUI’s Vir Chatrath finished third with 4,313.
According to the sources, Gandhi asked why NSUI had not fielded Shokeen for vice-president and considered Yadav for another post. Kumar is learnt to have said that Shokeen had been offered the presidential ticket but wanted to contest for vice-president. Gandhi responded that the party should have considered giving him the post he sought, the sources said.
The meeting also discussed Kumar’s handling of NSUI. Gandhi questioned the choice of Chatrath, who, according to the sources, had joined Delhi University only months before the election. He did not object to Vijay Shankar Meena’s candidature for president.
Gandhi asked why the organisation had failed to win a central-panel post despite the Congress’s efforts to reach young voters, the sources said. He called for a stronger NSUI presence on campuses and greater engagement with students’ concerns.
Kumar has been the AICC in-charge of NSUI since July 2023. The latest result has renewed scrutiny of the student wing’s performance as Gandhi pursues a broader student outreach effort through his “Chhatron Ki Goonj” programme.
The ABVP won three of the four central-panel posts. Shokeen became the first Independent elected to the panel in 17 years.