The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Saturday swept the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections winning all the four posts with spectacular margins.
NSUI finished on the second spot for three posts and debutant Aam Aadmi Party's student wing CYSS managed to remain in the fight by managing a runners-up spot for the vice-president's post.
The candidates of the ABVP, the students' wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), won the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary by securing 32 percent of the total 2,24,078 votes. The ABVP had won all the four posts last year, too.
National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, trailed at the second spot in three posts by getting 19 percent of the total votes whereas CYSS' count was limited to 16 percent votes only.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders along with NSUI on Saturday congratulated ABVP for winning all the seats in the Delhi University Students' Union elections.
Satinder Awana, an M.A. Buddhist Studies student, won the president's post by 6,327 votes. Awana received 20,439 votes, defeating NSUI's Pradeep Vijayran, who polled 14,112 votes.
Awana told IANS: "I won by over 6,300 votes and the credit of my win goes to the DU students. Students trusted us and we will fulfil our promises. We will work for students' safety, women's security, new colleges."
The vice-president's post was won by Sunny Dedha, a law student, by 7,570 votes. He defeated AAP's student wing Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti's Garima Rana.
"It's a big defeat for CYSS. It proves that a fight can be won on issues not posters," Dedha told IANS.
After the results were announced, the winning candidates were showered with flowers and garlands. Bursting of crackers, distribution of sweets and loud cheering was witnessed at the Kingsway Camp counting venue.
The supporters danced to drum beats and took out a march to celebrate the victory amid tight security by Delhi Police. The winning candidates marched towards the famous Swami Vivekananda statue and thanked the students for giving them a clear mandate.
Anjali Rana from Lakshmibai College, who won the secretary's post by 4,610 votes, told IANS: "Girls' safety would be my first priority. I thank students for my win."
Chhattarpal Yadav, an M.A. Buddhist Studies student, won the joint secretary's post by 6,065 votes. "We do politics of truth. CYSS gave false promises and students knew about it," Yadav told IANS.
The elections on Friday witnessed a 43.3 percent turnout, a slight dip from last year's 44 percent.
The CYSS presidential candidate came in the fourth place and its vice-presidential candidate came in second.
Reacting to the CYSS defeat, its president Anupam Yadav said that for a debutant, the party did well.
"It was our first time and we did well by getting over 35,000 votes. We will work hard to register our victory in next year's DUSU polls. It should not be seen as Arvind Kejriwal's defeat," Yadav told IANS.
"We are confident that Indian student politics will witness the dawn of a new and constructive student force, as after DUSU 2015, CYSS will now expand its cadre in Delhi University as well as other universities of India," Yadav said.
Chief election officer for DUSU polls D.S. Rawat said overall the polls were conducted in a peaceful manner.
On the many complaints made against candidates for openly flouting rules, Rawat told IANS: "We are considering all complaints regarding violation of rules. We will take appropriate action after proper investigation."
BJP national president Amit Shah took to Twitter to congratulate ABVP on its spectacular win.
"Heartiest Congratulations to all Parishad karyakartas on clean sweep in DUSU Polls. A victory of ideology #ABVPRocks," he tweeted.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who started his political career at DUSU, also congratulated ABVP.
"Congratulations to ABVP & Students of Delhi University on winning the DUSU elections & making a clean sweep by winning all the four seats," he tweeted.
Congratulating ABVP on its win, state BJP chief Satish Upadhyay tweeted: "Spectacular performance by ABVP in DUSU polls. Clean Sweep shows Students' TRUST. Many Congratulations !!#ABVPRocks."
NSUI released a statement congratulating the winners of the DUSU polls.
"NSUI would like to congratulate the winners of the DUSU polls and wish them a successful tenure. We accept the mandate of the student fraternity and would like to iterate our agenda for student welfare remain unchanged."
NSUI, however, blamed the AAP-led CYSS for dividing the votes and helping ABVP secure such a mandate.
"It is evident from the voting trends that Aam Aadmi Party is dividing the votes to help the RSS and the BJP in furthering their agenda," the statement said.
A total of 35 candidates were in the fray.
