DU gears up for high-profile students' union polls; security tightened

New Delhi: The Delhi University is sprawling abuzz with anticipation as its over 2.75 lakh students are eligible to vote in one of the country’s most high-profile student elections on Thursday.

The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls, often seen as a launchpad for national politics, this year carry the weight of history, a visible shift in campaign style, and the promise of a new generation of leadership.

Voting will be conducted in two shifts — 8.30 am to 1 pm for day scholars and 3 pm to 7.30 pm for evening students. Results will be declared on September 19.

As the campus prepares for polling, security has been tightened. Over 600 police officers have been deployed, 160 of them equipped with body-worn cameras, along with extra CCTV surveillance and drones to monitor activities.

North District DCP Raja Banthia said that “every inch of the campus” will be under police surveillance on Thursday.

He added that traffic management will also receive special attention, with certain routes diverted or closed, and a student-only pedestrian route created to ensure smooth polling.

For the first time in years, the walls of colleges and hostels have been left unscarred by posters and graffiti, thanks to strict enforcement of anti-defacement rules under the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines. The shift has been widely noticed.

“We are happy that this year no defacement is visible in the campuses, which used to be our major problem,” DUSU Chief Election Officer Raj Kishore Sharma told PTI.

HC bans victory procession after results

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court barred candidates and student organisations from taking out victory processions anywhere in the national capital after the results of the DUSU polls on September 19.

The court further directed the Delhi Police, DU officials and civil administration to take all possible and permissible steps to stop any untoward incident during the DUSU polls and to ensure that no violation of regulations takes place during the elections.

The campaign, which ended at 8 am on Wednesday, was marked by quieter debates and issue-based canvassing, contrasting with the poster wars and wall slogans of the past.

Over 25 complaints were registered with the election committee, and nine show-cause notices were issued to seven central panel candidates — a reminder that the rules are being watched closely.

At the heart of the contest are three main groups — the RSS-affiliated ABVP, the Congress-backed NSUI and the Left-supported SFI-AISA alliance. Each has released manifestoes emphasising reforms, inclusivity and student welfare.

But what makes 2025 distinctive is the presence of strong women contenders vying for the president’s post, something the Delhi University has not seen in nearly two decades.

NSUI’s Joslyn Nandita Choudhary, a postgraduate student of Buddhist Studies, has put hostel shortages, campus safety and menstrual leave at the centre of her campaign.

The SFI-AISA combine’s Anjali, from Indraprastha College for Women, has called for gender sensitisation, resistance to fee hikes and restoration of grievance redressal mechanisms.

The ABVP has fielded Aryan Maan from Bahadurgarh, who has pledged subsidised metro passes, free Wi-Fi, accessibility audits and better sports facilities.

The electoral arithmetic is also shifting. With the inclusion of fourth-year students under the four-year undergraduate programme, the voter base is expected to swell from 2.25 lakh to over 2.75 lakh.

“We are expecting an increase of about 50,000 voters compared to previous elections,” the chief election officer said.

The stakes are high. DUSU has long been a nursery for national politics — leaders such as Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Union ministers late Arun Jaitley and Ajay Maken, and former MLA Alka Lamba once held its posts.

For the students, however, the immediate stakes are tangible — affordable hostels, safer campuses, reliable transport and inclusive policies.

With manifestoes that go beyond rhetoric, stricter monitoring of campaigns and a rare moment where women contenders stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men, the 2025 DUSU polls appear poised to be more than just another election.

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