Hours after the final candidate list for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections was released on Friday, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) presidential nominee Yash Dabas found himself at the centre of a controversy. A purported marksheet questioning his academic record had begun circulating on social media, threatening to overshadow his campaign for the post.
From a village on Delhi’s edge
Dabas grew up in Kanjhawala, a village on Delhi’s north-western edge. Before politics, Dabas built a name for himself on the tennis court. He represented the University of Delhi at the All India and Khelo India University Games and competed internationally, playing International Tennis Federation (ITF) events across Spain, Australia and Serbia.His academic path runs through some of Delhi University’s better known institutions. He completed his undergraduate degree at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur (SGTB) Khalsa College, went on to study law at the Campus Law Centre (CLC) under the university’s Faculty of Law, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree from the Department of Buddhist Studies.
The allegations
That trajectory came under question on Friday when a purported marksheet belonging to Dabas began circulating on social media, accompanied by posts questioning his academic record and urging students to “choose wisely” ahead of the vote.PTI, which first reported the controversy, said the authenticity of the document could not be independently verified.
ABVP calls it a smear campaign
An ABVP official rejected the allegations outright, calling them a “smear campaign” timed to dent Dabas’ standing days before polling. The official described him as a popular candidate among students and argued that the claims were politically motivated, an attempt to malign his image rather than a genuine concern.The official added that students would ultimately judge candidates on their work and their commitment to the university, not on allegations circulating online.
The race he is fighting
The controversy lands in the middle of what was already shaping up to be a closely watched contest. The ABVP has fielded Dabas against the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI)’s Vijay Shankar Meena and the joint candidate of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Ananya Raturi.Alongside Meena, the NSUI has nominated Vir Chatrath for vice-president, Namrata Choudhary for secretary and Gopal Choudhary for joint secretary. The AISA-SFI alliance has put up Akshat Shikhar for vice-president, Stanzin Deskyong for secretary and B Parijaat for joint secretary.The DUSU elections are scheduled for September 18, with counting to follow the next day. Campaigning is expected to intensify in the days ahead, with organisations turning their focus to campus infrastructure, student welfare, representation and safety. Whether the allegations against Dabas fade into the noise of a heated election season, or come to define it, is a question only the ballot boxes on September 18 can answer.(with PTI inputs)