New Delhi, Sep 21 — Newly elected Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Vice-President, Deepanshu Shokeen, on Monday said AICC in-charge of the Congress’ student wing, NSUI, Kanhaiya Kumar should take responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the DUSU elections. He also stressed on the internal politics in the party for the poor showing in the just concluded polls.

A former JNU Students’ Union president and one of the prominent young faces to join the Congress, Kanhaiya Kumar had walked alongside Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' before being appointed AICC in-charge of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in July 2023.

However, the NSUI’s latest performance in the DUSU polls has raised questions over how effectively the party’s organisational strategy has translated into electoral gains among students.

The NSUI failed to win any of the four posts on the DUSU central panel this year, marking its first complete defeat in the university’s top student body since 2015.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won the posts of President, Secretary and Joint Secretary, while the Vice-President’s position went to Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen, who had earlier sought an NSUI ticket.

Shokeen won the Vice-President’s election with 30,615 votes, defeating ABVP candidate Ishu Maurya and NSUI’s official candidate Vir Chatrath.

Commenting on the NSUI’s performance and Kanhaiya Kumar’s role, Shokeen said, “Somewhere, Kanhaiya Kumar should take responsibility. He is in-charge in the party, and I believe he must have played a role... He should have taken a clear stand, come to the ground, and checked who was strong and who had the preparation. If he had come to the ground and observed things, perhaps the results and decisions would have been different.”

Responding to claims that he was initially supposed to contest the DUSU President’s election, Shokeen said that no final decision had been taken regarding the candidates for the top post.

“It was not like that because nothing was confirmed as to who was contesting for President and who was not. My withdrawal was the last to happen. Three Independent candidates were contesting. Before me, an Independent candidate who had been with NSUI had posted. The candidature of the official NSUI candidate was already confirmed. So how can it be said that I was being made to contest for President?” he said.

Shokeen said his withdrawal from the Vice-President’s contest from the NSUI had already taken place and alleged that internal politics subsequently affected the process of ticket distribution.

“Why was the issue not taken to the higher ups? Because if it had reached the higher-ups, we were deserving and would have been given the ticket. How things were managed there, both the internal politics are responsible, and the people who were given responsibility there were perhaps not capable of handling the pressure,” he said.

“When three Independent candidates were contesting from NSUI, the direct question arises: How? It is a major question as to how politics was played -- people were first given assurances that they were contesting, and till the end, there was no clarification for anyone,” Shokeen added.

Elaborating on the role of internal politics in the election process, Shokeen said those responsible for managing the election should have assessed the situation on the ground before taking decisions.

“What happened because of internal politics and why -- those who had full management in their hands and were responsible for it, whether they were party in-charges or others, are now saying they were giving tickets. Many theories are being circulated, but I would like to say that they should have managed internal politics,” he said.

“Decisions should have been made after checking the ground reality -- seeing whom Gen Z supports, who is deserving, and by coming among the students to take those decisions. Perhaps the results would have been different, because students somewhere support those who raise their voices and stay among them,” he added.

On LoP Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ initiative, Shokeen said students remained connected with the Congress leader and appreciated his focus on issues concerning education and the youth, but argued that the initiative needed stronger implementation at the grassroots level.

“Students feel very connected with Rahul Gandhi. Somewhere, he has become the voice of the students, raises their issues, and talks about education. But his initiative should be taken to the ground level. The people below should take responsibility, and the voice of the ground-level people must reach the top leadership,” Shokeen said.

“I have met Rahul Gandhi about three times. I feel good and feel very connected with him, but somewhere the people below him act as a barrier. You cannot present your views, and you end up becoming a victim of internal politics,” he added.

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