New Delhi: BJP students’ wing ABVP on Saturday handed down a crushing defeat to Congress’ NSUI in the Delhi University Students Union polls, winning three out of four top posts, seen as significant ahead of Delhi assembly election.
As it wrested control from NSUI, the ABVP credited the victory to the popularity of Narendra Modi among students as it had used the persona of the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate in the high-voltage campaign for polls to the prestigious student body. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidates Aman Awana and Utkarsh Chaudhary were elected as president and vice-president respectively while Raju Rawat, also of ABVP, won the post of joint secretary. Karishma Thakur of National Students Union of India (NSUI) has been elected as the secretary. Awana, a student at the Department of Buddhist Studies, won the fight polling 17,879 votes against NSUI candidate Vishal Choudhary’s 16,346 votes, Delhi University’s Chief Election Officer Ashok Vohra said.
Chaudhary won the vice president’s posts polling 14,968 votes against NSUI candidate Kapil Sharma’s 11,275 votes. Rawat polled 14,643 votes against losing NSUI nominee Kushank Khari’s 12,355 votes in the race for Joint Secretary’s post. The only post won by NSUI was of the secretary by Karishma Thakur who defeated ABVP’s Anshu Lakra receiving 14,662 votes against latter’s 11,944 votes. Last year NSUI had won three of the four posts except the position of joint secretary which was bagged by ABVP.
Awana said the ABVP candidates wrested the control of DUSU primarily due to Modi’s popularity among students and their anger against NSUI. “Modi is an inspiration to the youth and a lot of the credit for our victory goes to him,” he said.
The ABVP had used Modi’s photograph in its posters extensively during the campaign. It had also promised to ensure safety of girls and improving infrastructure in its manifesto. NSUI spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey alleged that ABVP had won due to “muscle and money power”. “ABVP had created fear among students with their dirty politics. Awana has a criminal record and even an FIR was registered in an attempt to murder case for beating up a student of Dyal Singh College in 2011,” he alleged.
Rawat said ABVP’s win was an indication towards of support of youths. “It is the first step towards BJP’s bigger victory in the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
We had raised issues which mattered to students and based on that we have had such a glorious victory,” Rawat said. Twelve candidates each for the posts of president and vice president, 17 for the post of secretary, and 10 for joint secretary were in the fray for the four major posts. The election yesterday saw a turnout of over 40 per cent.
The campaign this time was dominated by issues such as women security and the new four-year undergraduate programme. The poll result assumes significance as Delhi assembly election is due in November. (PTI)