At the very moment Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was eliciting applause by engaging in mimicry with stand-up comic Pulkit Mani during the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' event, the ABVP was celebrating beneath the statue of Swami Vivekananda at Delhi University's North Campus.
Until four days prior, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had been fighting its toughest student union election since 2012 across both the North and South campuses.
However, when the results were declared on Saturday, the ABVP decisively trounced the NSUI. So, has Rahul Gandhi's attempt to woo the youth through Chhatron Ki Goonj failed on his own turf?
Let us try to understand this through the results. Looking at the figures, the NSUI had managed to win just one seat - the vice presidency - in the 2025 elections; this time, however, they were reduced to zero.
Essentially, the 'Voice of Students' fell silent upon reaching Delhi University. It failed to penetrate the caste-based politics of the university - something NSUI strategists had hoped it would do.
In the 2025 elections, the NSUI fielded two Jat and two Gurjar candidates. This time, however, they tried a new experiment: fielding Dalit candidate Vijay Meena for president, Punjabi candidate Veer Chathrath for vice president, Jat candidate Namrata Chaudhary for secretary, and another Jat candidate, Gopal Chaudhary, for joint secretary.
In other words, they fielded two Jats, one Punjabi, and one Dalit. Yet, two NSUI rebels - Deepanshu Shaukeen and Vishesh Yadav - derailed this caste-based strategy, turning the NSUI's 'voice' in Delhi University into silence.
One can also gauge the failure of Chhatron Ki Goonj by comparing last year's vote count with this year's? While Rahul Jhansi secured approximately 29,300 votes for the vice presidency in 2025, NSUI's presidential candidate Vijay Meena had to settle for 21,390 votes this year.
The question arises, why was the NSUI unable to capitalise on the Gen-Z movement and student anger over deaths caused by a building collapse at a paying guest facility in Satya Niketan?
In reality, the NSUI continues to lag behind the ABVP. It fails to field superior candidates or effectively champion student issues, a trend reflected in the NOTA (None of the Above) figures.
While NOTA got 23,674 votes in the previous DUSU election, the count rose to 23,942 this time. Although the NSUI vigorously raised issues concerning NEET and hostel shortage, it sidelined Deepanshu Shaukeen, a student leader who had actively protested against the NEET exam and even marched barefoot over the Satya Niketan tragedy.
This sent a message to the campus community that the NSUI prioritises the children of prominent leaders over student leaders who actually fight for causes. However, the only silver lining for the NSUI in this election was its attempt to rise above caste-based politics by fielding a Dalit candidate for the presidency, breaking the tradition of nominating a Jat.
Will the Congress party also learn a lesson from the echoes of the NSUI's defeat in the campus election?
Ravish Ranjan Shukla is Associate Editor with NDTV India.
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
