New Delhi: The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election results have prompted Rahul Gandhi to seek a detailed report from Congress Organisation General Secretary K C Venugopal on the humiliating defeat of the party’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
The report came after his September 19 programme in Indore, where he addressed students under the Congress campaign ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’.
Gandhi have asked Venugopal to prepare a detailed assessment of NSUI’s performance, including the reasons for the defeat and candidate selection, according to reports.
Why DUSU’s verdict is a fatal blow
The DUSU election was held on September 18, with more than 1.51 lakh students eligible to vote. Turnout was 40.46 per cent. The result has also raised questions over the selection of NSUI candidates within the Congress student organisation. Shokeen had wanted to contest for vice-president, while the organisation had considered him for another position. He eventually entered the election as an independent after the ticket dispute. These reports have made candidate selection one of the issues expected to feature in the review sought by the Congress leadership. The defeat came on the heels of Gandhi’s high-profile nation-wide youth campaigns targeting paper leaks and campus issues. Losing North Campus, the epicenter of student activism, shows that Congress’s national narratives are completely failing to convert into grassroots Gen-Z votes on ground zero. A complete whitewash destabilises the pipeline of young, sharp, campus-tested leadership, leaving the Congress party’s youth infrastructure in the national capital effectively leaderless and demoralised. The report has also mentioned the role of NSUI’s leadership in the election campaign and the possibility of organisational action after the review. Any such action would depend on the findings and decisions of the Congress leadership.
DUSU has historically served as the primary nursery for future Congress leaders, MPs and party strategists.
