Congress faces reality check as DUSU poll results clash with Rahul Gandhi's student outreach

Rahul Gandhi held the fifth edition of his student outreach event called Chhatron ki Goonj in Indore, following earlier stops in Pune, Dehradun, Prayagraj, and Kota. While thousands of young people applauded his message asking students to question a system controlled by a handful of people, the Congress party faced a major setback in the Delhi University Students Union elections.

DUSU Election Results

The RSS student wing ABVP won three of the four main posts in the DUSU elections, securing the positions of president, secretary, and joint secretary. The Congress student wing NSUI won zero seats, drawing a complete blank after winning the vice-president post last year. The Congress nominated tribal candidate Vijay Shankar Meena for president, who saw a 78 percent increase in votes compared to the party's 2025 figure. However, the party lost the vice-president election to an Independent candidate named Deepanshu Shokeen, whose father works as a DTC bus conductor and whose mother is an Anganwadi worker. Shokeen ran a barefoot campaign demanding student hostels after a private PG building collapse in Satya Niketan killed seven people, including five Delhi University students.

Internal Conflicts and Allegations

The Congress faced internal party rifts after reportedly denying a ticket to Shokeen and instead giving it to Veer Chatrath, the son of AICC headquarters in-charge Manish Chatrath. Veer Chatrath finished a distant third in the race. Manish Chatrath and NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar had a significant say in deciding these party tickets. Critics noted that the Congress relies heavily on boosting Rahul Gandhi's personal image through events and yatras while failing to rebuild or rejuvenate its grassroots organization, warning this could lead to the NGO-isation of the party.

Rival Responses

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi increased his youth outreach through Instagram reels, and the central government agreed to withdraw all FIRs against students who joined paper leak protests. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also stated that youth protesters were not anti-national. Gen Z voters make up about 26 percent of India's population and are expected to play a decisive role in upcoming state and central elections.