For Rocky Tuseed, who was elected the new DUSU President on Wednesday, it was clearly the best day of his life.
Hailed a hero, supporters chanted slogans in his name, mediapersons jostled for his comment and random people craned their necks to have a glimpse of him. Tuseed was in the limelight and for a good reason, for he had brought the Congress's student wing, the National Students Union of India back to the capital's university after a gap of three years—and by extension, provided a respite to its parent party, reeling against a string of electoral reverses against the BJP.
Congratulations poured from all quarters in the party hierarchy for the young student enrolled in Buddhist course as soon his victory was announced and party supporters swarmed the university area with shouts of "NSUI Zindabad".
Hundreds of party supporters broke into wild dancing and shrill sloganeering as soon as the news reached them that the NSUI had won the top seats of president and vice president. At the same time, there was confusion about the post of Joint Secretary (JS), which ultimately went to RSS-backed Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate Uma Shankar against Avinash Yadav of NSUI. The decision was disputed by the latter.
The close margin of defeat also added to the suspicion of NSUI, which alleged malpractice in vote count and demanded a recounting.
All this while, the overwhelmed supporters of the party divided their energy between a vigorous championing of the winning candidates and a vociferous demand for recounting.
The crowd at length relented against a defiant election office which refused to hear them. The party now relies for the courts which it is set to approach.
However, the episode failed to diminish the spirit of the members of winning party. Off from the counting centre at GTB Nagar, the teeming crowd pervaded the North Campus in full vigour and enthusiasm.
The 30-40 strong caravan jammed the Chhatra Marg where the DUSU office is situated amid heavy police presence and rerouting of other vehicles.
Police allowed the victory rally to carry on and opened the road for traffic only after it passed.
Notably, Delhi University authorities had earlier rejected the nomination papers of the NSUI presidential candidate Rocky Tusheed who contested after the intervention of the Delhi High Court and won with a big margin.
"This is not the only instance (where NSUI won in student elections). The atmosphere in the country is changing. Those who misled the youth, The youth are today teaching them a lesson. The NSUI won the Panjab University election and prior to that, in Rajasthan University, the NSUI sounded the victory bugle. It is a reflection of the changed atmosphere in the country," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
In the past there has never been an incident where nominations have been cancelled in students' polls and one has to move the court to get them restored. This is the manifestation of subversion of varsities by the BJP-led NDA government, he claimed.
