NEW DELHI: For newly elected Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) vice-president Deepanshu Shokeen, the election campaign was as much about raising students’ issues as it was about contesting independently after he was denied an NSUI ticket.The son of a Delhi Transport Corporation bus conductor and an Anganwadi teacher, Shokeen is a native of Peeragarhi village in west Delhi.Shokeen won the DUSU vice-president post with 30,615 votes, defeating his closest rival, Ishu Maurya of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), by a margin of 13,705 votes.Currently pursuing a Master’s in Buddhist Studies, Shokeen completed his graduation from Bhagat Singh College. He said his experiences as a student over the past four years shaped his decision to enter student politics.A key feature of his campaign was his decision to walk barefoot, with Shokeen vowing not to wear shoes until justice was delivered to students affected by the Satya Niketan building tragedy. The collapse of the multi-storey paying guest accommodation on September 6 left seven people dead, including five Delhi University students.Shokeen’s election journey was also marked by a fallout with the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).According to party officials, Shokeen had sought an NSUI ticket and was initially nominated, but was later asked to withdraw his nomination.“We got to know that he was snubbed over the NSUI ticket on September 11. That is when he decided to fight independently,” his father Rakesh Shokeen stated.The newly elected DUSU V-P said raising issues faced by students was at the core of his campaign.“Whether it is the issue of hostel facility, university infrastructure or policies, I have faced all of them myself. This election was fought on all these student-centric issues,” he told PTI.“Fighting the election was not my only motive; I was representing all the students and their issues. I am here to raise their voice,” he said.Shokeen has publicly criticised “the organisational shortcomings within NSUI” and questioned the process through which candidates were selected.“Denying him a ticket and him later fighting as an independent candidate turned into an open challenge to the organisation’s ticket distribution process,” an NSUI functionary said on condition of anonymity.In an X post on result day, Shokeen thanked Delhi University students.“This victory isn’t mine. It belongs to every student who wants to raise real issues on campus. Fighting independently wasn’t easy, but you’ve proven that students’ trust rises above student organisations,” his post read.He said his responsibility had grown.“I will become the voice of every student. Revolution, comrades. Victory to Hind. Victory to Delhi University,” he further said.Earlier, Shokeen had alleged that some senior NSUI leaders questioned his campaign spending and visibility, including whether his cars were being seen enough during rallies. He also accused the NSUI of failing to manage its internal differences and blaming candidates for the fallout.“No doubt that fighting as an independent candidate was very difficult but I had the support of the students,” he said.Shokeen had also said that, if elected, he would protest outside the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor’s office even before taking charge of the DUSU office, signalling the approach he intended to bring to student politics.His decision to contest independently after being denied the NSUI ticket, along with his barefoot campaign following the Satya Niketan tragedy, had made him one of the closely watched independent candidates in this year’s DUSU election.(With Agency Inputs)
