'Expand outreach, take on RSS': Rahul Gandhi meets Kanhaiya Kumar, others after NSUI setback in DUSU polls

Lok Sabha's Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, asked the Congress's student body, NSUI, to deepen outreach in colleges and universities against the growing clout of RSS in educational institutions.

Gandhi met NSUI chief Vinod Jakhar and general secretary in charge of NSUI and Youth Congress Kanhaiya Kumar to review the recent Delhi University Students Union election.

The Congress-backed NSUI failed to secure a single seat in the top posts while the ABVP bagged three posts and a Congress leader turned independent candidate won the Vice President post.

Also Read | ABVP wins 3 of 4 DUSU posts

According to two functionaries aware of the details, Gandhi was given a report on the poll results, but he emphasised taking on the RSS in educational institutions.

Gandhi appreciated the decision to field Vijay Shankar Meena, an Adivasi student from Rajasthan who lost the president's post by a narrow margin.

Also Read | ‘Majority did not vote for them’, says CJP's Saurav Das as ABVP sweeps DUSU polls

In the meeting, it was pointed out that unlike other arudenr leaders, who led a flashy campaign, Meena secured nearly 20,000 votes in a much subdued campaign that left a mark.

Later, Jakhar said, “The general thrust of the discussion has been that we need to work vigorously on strengthening the organisation; there were several other topics discussed as well… There was no specific discussion on DUSU; the main point is that it is our responsibility to improve things and engage with the campus more robustly… The day-by-day decline in the standard of education at the university is deeply concerning, and that is an area where we need to focus our efforts.”