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Rahul Gandhi during a meeting with NSUI leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Vinod Jakhar to review the Congress student wing’s DUSU election performance. (Images: Dynamite News)
New Delhi: The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election results have triggered an internal review within the Congress with Rahul Gandhi seeking answers from National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) leaders over the party’s poor performance. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi met NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar and national president Vinod Jakhar on Monday to discuss the election outcome. Congress organisation general secretary KC Venugopal was also present during the meeting.
Gandhi questioned the leadership over how NSUI failed to secure any position on the four-member DUSU central panel despite expectations of a close contest for the presidential post. “We were very close to winning the presidential seat, then what happened?” Gandhi is learnt to have asked during the discussion.
During the meeting, Gandhi reportedly sought details about the campaign strategy, candidate selection process and election management. Congress leaders are said to have expressed concerns over the gap between expectations and the final results. Venugopal also questioned Kanhaiya Kumar regarding the outcome, sources said, pointing out that Kumar had played a key role during the ticket distribution process. The discussion reportedly focused on whether organisational decisions and ground-level planning were responsible for NSUI’s disappointing performance.
The case of Deepanshu Shokeen also reportedly came up during the meeting. Shokeen, a former NSUI member, won the DUSU vice-president post as an Independent candidate. Shokeen had been associated with student politics since 2023 and had campaigned for NSUI in previous elections. After not receiving a ticket from the organisation, he contested independently in the 2025 election.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi asked NSUI leaders why Shokeen was not accommodated. The leaders reportedly responded that the demands made by Shokeen during discussions were difficult to accept. However, Gandhi was reportedly not satisfied with how the issue was handled.
Congress leader Amitabh Dubey later disputed claims regarding Shokeen’s ticket. In a post on X, Dubey said Shokeen was offered the presidential ticket, but declined it before contesting the vice-president’s election independently.
The DUSU election results saw the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) winning the president, secretary and joint-secretary posts, while Shokeen secured the vice-president position. NSUI failed to win any seat on the central panel. The results has become a concern for Congress as the party has been attempting to strengthen its connect with young voters through various student-focused outreach programmes.
Rahul Gandhi’s 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' initiative was aimed at engaging with students across different regions. The DUSU setback has prompted questions within the party over whether its youth outreach is converting into stronger organisational support on campuses.
Sources said the meeting also discussed increasing political participation among Gen-Z students and the need to strengthen grassroots engagement among young voters.
