NSUI Members Complain to Top Congress Leaders Over DUSU Election Debacle and Leadership Style

Congress student wing NSUI members have written to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to complain about the organisation's leadership under Kanhaiya Kumar following a zero-seat defeat in the Delhi University Students Union elections. The grouse centers on poor candidate selection, mishandling of aspirants, and a total lack of ground involvement by senior leaders.

The Shokeen Controversy

Deepanshu Shokeen, known as the barefoot candidate, won the vice-president seat with 30,615 votes as an independent after being denied an NSUI ticket, while official candidate Vir Chatrath finished third with 4,313 votes. Insiders revealed Chatrath's ticket could not be changed because he is the son of a senior party leader. When Shokeen decided to run independently, no one tried to retain him, and some leaders even taunted him over his lack of financial resources and his background as the son of a DTC bus conductor. Another rebel candidate, Vishesh Yadav, secured 15,778 votes in the joint-secretary race, outperforming the official NSUI nominee Gopal Choudhary who got 15,206 votes. This marked the first time since 2015 that NSUI failed to win any central-panel post, dropping from two posts in 2024 and one in 2025.

Broader Grievances

Beyond candidate selection, members accused the leadership of prioritizing social media optics over grassroots mobilization. Critics also pointed out that National Organising Bodies have not been formed even eight months into the term, leaving a massive leadership vacuum where college-level heads are never consulted.