DU, Delhi Police call DUSU elections 2025 peaceful ahead of EVM tampering case hearing

Delhi University saw a 4% increase in voter turnout this year, with Miranda House recording the highest, at over 60%. DUSU chief electoral officer Raj Kishore Sharma said during a review meeting held on Sunday by the DU officials and senior Delhi police officers.

The meeting was chaired by DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh to take stock of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections for the academic year 2025-26. They discussed "lessons learned, innovative measures, and ways to further strengthen the election process in the coming years".

Lauding both the DUSU Election Committee and the Delhi Police, Singh credited the "positive cooperation from both sides" for the smooth and peaceful conduct of this year's students' union elections. "We learned a lot from past experiences; these experiences will be useful for future elections as well," the vice-chancellor said.

Police officers were also felicitated for their contribution during the meeting.

DCP North West Bhisham Singh said that he had been observing DUSU elections for the past 30 years, both as a student and now as an officer. The officers said that this year’s 'Green and Clean' election campaign and other innovative and creative approaches helped in conducting the elections smoothly.

Increasing the number of 'Wall of Democracy' panels also helped in preventing vandalism, the officers said, while sharing several suggestions based on their experiences to improve the DUSU polls.

Delhi HC seeks DU’s response on EVM tampering

While the university and the Delhi Police called this year’s polls “peaceful and successful", students have challenged the DUSU election results.

Recently, the Delhi High Court has sought a response from the chief election officer, Raj Kishore Sharma, on a petition filed by outgoing president Ronak Khatri, who alleged EVM tampering in the polls held on September 18. The petition claims the voting was “vitiated” by irregularities at colleges including Hansraj, Kirori Mal, and the Faculty of Law.

The voter base increased from 2.25 lakh to 2.75 lakh this year after the university decided to allow students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programmes to cast their votes. On the day of the election, the National Students’ Union of India ( NSUI ) had accused the administration and the RSS-backed ABVP of 'vote chori' in a video statement.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which reclaimed power by winning three out of the four posts, rejected the allegations.

The court will take up the matter on December 16.