With just days to go before the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) finds itself mired in a damaging power struggle that threatens to derail its campaign.

A widening rift between NSUI’s national in-charge Kanhiya Kumar and its president Varun Chaudhry has created two competing power centres, leaving student leaders and workers divided at a critical electoral moment.

Fallout from Panjab University defeat

The tensions flared after NSUI’s poor showing in the Panjab University Students’ Union elections, where controversial ticket allocations sparked unrest. Insiders say Chaudhry and the Chandigarh unit had backed Sumit Kumar as the presidential candidate, but Kanhiya Kumar vetoed the choice and instead fielded Prabhjot Singh, a newcomer to NSUI.

The gamble backfired. The ABVP swept the top post with Gaurav Veer Sohal polling 3,148 votes, while Sumit Kumar, running independently, came second with 2,660 votes. Prabhjot Singh, NSUI’s official candidate, finished a distant third with just 1,359 votes.

“We lost a winnable battle. A candidate brought in days before the election could never connect with the students,” an NSUI functionary said.

Leadership alarmed by growing rift

The defeat widened the cracks within NSUI, with Chaudhry reportedly taking the matter to Rahul Gandhi. Dissenters have accused Kanhiya Kumar of pushing NSUI towards a more leftist orientation by inducting individuals from other student movements, unsettling the party’s traditional cadre.

“There are now two clear camps. Engaging with one risks alienating the other. This division will cost us dearly in Delhi University,” a senior NSUI leader warned.

The Congress high command has since intervened, convening meetings between KC Venugopal, Kanhiya Kumar, and Varun Chaudhry. Sources say Kumar was pressed to pause his plans for a new presidential selection process to avoid further escalation.

High stakes in Delhi University

The stakes for Congress are significant. Last year, NSUI’s Raunak Khatri ended a seven-year drought by clinching the DUSU president’s post, reviving the organisation’s presence on campus. But with internal discord threatening to spill into the campaign, leaders fear a repeat of the Panjab University fiasco.

For now, NSUI faces a race against time: to heal its fractures before Delhi University voters deliver their verdict.