DUSU election 2026 | From Arun Jaitley to Rekha Gupta: Ex-DUSU members who went onto define India's politics

Forget IAS coaching centres — for decades, Delhi University's student union has quietly been India's real political academy. From Arun Jaitley to Rekha Gupta, DUSU has produced an astonishing number of leaders who now shape national and state politics. What starts as a noisy campus election, complete with posters, slogans, and free rickshaw rides to polling booths, has repeatedly turned into the first step of a much bigger journey — all the way to Parliament and the Chief Minister's chair.

Some contested as fresh-faced 20-somethings; others lost their first election before rising to the top. This is the story of how one university's student politics became a breeding ground for some of India's most recognisable political names — and why DUSU elections are watched far more closely than most people realise.

DUSU history, evolution

The Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) was founded in 1949, with its first elections held in 1954. Over time, the shift to direct elections widened student participation. The 1970s marked a turning point, as campaigns increasingly focused on unemployment, corruption, democratic rights and government policy. During the 1975–77 Emergency, DUSU became closely linked to the broader democratic movement, cementing its role as a testing ground for national political currents among young voters.

Forces shaping DUSU elections 

DUSU elections have long been dominated by two forces: the ABVP, affiliated with the RSS, and the NSUI, the Congress party’s student wing. Their rivalry has shaped much of DUSU’s electoral history, while Left-backed groups and independents have also contested elections and influenced campus debates.

Famous politicians who were DUSU members

Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley studied B.Com at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and later completed LLB from the Department of Law. In 1974, Jaitley became the DUSU President as an ABVP candidate. His tenure as the DUSU president came at a politically charged Emergency era. His student politics was marked mostly by opposition against the authoritarian Indira Gandhi regime.

He joined the BJP six years after becoming the DUSU president. Jaitley later went onto become the Union Finance Minister and was associated with economic policy initiatives such as the roll out of goods and services tax (GST).

Ajay Maken

Almost a decade later, Maken became DUSU president in 1985 as an NSUI candidate and later joined the Congress party. He is the only B.Sc Chemistry (Hons) student to hold the DUSU president post. Ajay Maken has served as the Congress general secretary and held the Housing and Urban Poverty portfolio in 2012-13.

Rekha Gupta

Gupta became the Students' Union president in 1996 as an ABVP candidate. Later, she rose through the ranks in the BJP and went onto become the Delhi Chief Minister.

Alka Lamba

Lamba won the DUSU president election in 1995 as an NSUI candidate. She became a Delhi MLA and has held organisational positions in political parties.

Nupur Sharma

Nupur Sharma became the DUSU president in 2008 as an ABVP candidate. Sharma later went onto become a BJP spokesperson. On June 5, 2022, she was suspended as the national spokesperson after she made controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate on the Gyanvapi issue.