Who is Deepanshu Shokeen? Independent candidate wins DUSU Vice President seat

An independent candidate has pulled off the most emphatic win of this year's Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections, and his own party did not want him to run.Deepanshu Shokeen won the vice president's post with 30,615 votes, the highest tally among all four central panel winners declared on Saturday. He defeated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate Ishu Maurya, who polled 16,910 votes, and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) candidate Vir Chatrath, who managed only 4,313 votes. Left candidate Akshat Shikhar and Aranya Singh Rathore trailed further behind with 2,383 and 2,274 votes, respectively.The resultsShokeen's win was the only bright spot for anyone outside the two dominant parties. ABVP's Yash Dabas took the president's post with 24,576 votes, edging out NSUI's Vijay Shankar Meena, who polled 22,523 votes. ABVP also swept the secretary's post through Riya Chhawdi, with 21,650 votes, and the joint secretary's post through Lakshay Raj Singh, who won a tighter contest with 16,615 votes against SCS candidate Vishesh Yadav's 15,778 and NSUI's Gopal Choudhary's 15,206.That gave ABVP three of the four central panel posts. NSUI, despite fielding strong candidates across the board, failed to win a single one. The only post that slipped past both parties was the one Shokeen won.Who is Deepanshu ShokeenShokeen is a student of the Department of Buddhist Studies, a department that has produced several other candidates in this year's polls, and a graduate of Bhagat Singh College. According to media reports, he hails from Peeragarhi, where his father works as a bus conductor and his mother as an Anganwadi worker.His father had wanted him to prepare for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations. Shokeen chose student politics instead.The NSUI falloutShokeen's win carries an added edge because of where he started. According to several reports, he had originally sought a ticket from NSUI, the very organisation he ended up defeating. He had filed his nomination as an NSUI candidate but was asked to withdraw it, according to media reports. He refused, and instead contested as an independent, a decision that has now been vindicated by the widest margin of any candidate in this year's central panel.A reputation built before the ballotShokeen had already built a profile on campus before the election. He took up the cause of students affected by the collapse of a paying guest (PG) accommodation in Satya Niketan and vowed not to wear slippers until justice was delivered in the matter.Shokeen appeared confident of the result even before it was formally declared. "It's done Bro, Thank you DU, Independent Vice President," he posted on X, thanking students of Delhi University and pledging to stand by the trust they had placed in him.Of the five candidates who contested for vice president, including Aranya Singh Rathore, Ishu Maurya, Vir Chatrath and Akshat Shikhar, Shokeen was the only one to run without the backing of an established party, and the only one to win.Get the latest Education News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.