DUSU Elections 2026: 7 Candidates In Fray For President’s Post, Student Safety, Housing Key Issues

New Delhi: The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections have entered the final phase with seven candidates in the fray for the president’s post. The elections will be held on September 18, with student organisations gearing up for an intense campaign across Delhi University’s colleges.

The final provisional list released after scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations shows seven candidates contesting for president, five for vice-president and four each for secretary and joint secretary.

The presidential contest includes ABVP’s Yash Dabas, NSUI’s Vijay Shankar Meena and Ananya Raturi, who has been fielded by the AISA-SFI alliance. Four independent candidates — Ashmit Kumar, Ejaj Mansuri, Samarth Beniwal and Sameer Kumar — are also contesting for the top post.

ABVP has announced Yash Dabas as its presidential candidate. Ishu Maurya will contest for vice-president, Riya Chhawari for secretary and Lakshya Raj Singh for joint secretary. Dabas, who is from Kanjhawala, is pursuing a master’s degree in Buddhist Studies at Delhi University and has also competed in international tennis events.

The Congress-backed NSUI has fielded Vijay Shankar Meena for president. Its other candidates are Vir Chatrath for vice-president, Namrata Chaudhary for secretary and Gopal Choudhary for joint secretary. Meena is originally from Rajasthan and is pursuing an MA in Buddhist Studies at Delhi University.

The AISA-SFI alliance has nominated Ananya Raturi for president, Akshat Shikhar for vice-president, Stanzin Deskyong for secretary and B Parijaat for joint secretary. The alliance has said it wants to focus on student-led politics and oppose what it describes as money and muscle power in campus elections.

Student Housing Emerges As Key Election Issue

The Satya Niketan building collapse has also brought student accommodation and safety into sharp focus during the DUSU campaign. Seven people, including five students, died after a five-storey private hostel building collapsed in the area near Delhi University’s South Campus earlier this month.

With Delhi University facing a shortage of hostel accommodation, a large number of students, particularly those coming from other states, depend on private hostels, PGs and rented accommodation. Student groups have now made the availability of affordable and safe housing a major campaign issue.

ABVP has been conducting its “PG to PG” and “Class to Class” outreach, with student safety and accommodation among the issues being highlighted. The organisation has demanded more affordable hostel facilities and stricter safety standards in PGs and rented accommodation.

The issue is also being raised by rival student organisations, making student housing one of the few concerns that cuts across political lines in this year’s election.

The DUSU polls will therefore be fought not only over campus politics but also on issues that directly affect students’ daily lives — from accommodation and safety to infrastructure and representation.