Why Rahul Gandhi summoned Kanhaiya Kumar and what he asked

Why Rahul Gandhi summoned Kanhaiya Kumar and what he asked LoP unhappy with Kumar and Vinod Jakhar over DUSU poll rout against the backdrop of Congress's Gen-Z outreach, say sources.

Key points

• 3 min read New Delhi Sep 29, 2026 07: 10 AM IST First published on: Sep 29, 2026 at 07: 10 AM IST.
• The NSUI, or the National Students' Union of India, is the Congress's student wing.
• Shokeen has been active in student politics since 2023 and served as a student representative in his college.
• Senior Congress leader Amitabh Dubey dismissed reports of the NSUI denying Shokeen a ticket, labelling the claim false.
• Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusin.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party leader Kanhaiya Kumar. (X/Kanhaiya Kumar/File). Written by: Asad Rehman.

Weeks after it was routed in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections, failing to win a seat in the central panel for the first time in over a decade, the Congress's NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar and president Vinod Jakhar were summoned by Rahul Gandhi on Monday. The Leader of Opposition (LoP) sought answers on the defeat from the two leaders, it is learnt.

Meanwhile, the NSUI, or the National Students' Union of India, is the Congress's student wing. The session came at a time when Gandhi's student outreach, "Chhatron ki Goonj", has drawn sizable crowds in different cities and the Opposition and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are preparing to corner the Election Commission over its internal differences on the problem of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The CJP had led the protests against the NEET exam paper leak. It forced Dharmendra Pradhan to resign as Union Education Minister in July, bringing to the fore youth discontent on various problems.

Sources remarked Gandhi was unhappy with Kumar and Jakhar over the NSUI's defeat at a time when the Congress is making sustained efforts to reach out to the youth and Gen-Z voters. The leaders have submitted a report to the LoP. This person asked them specific questions regarding the reasons for the defeat in the DUSU polls. Gandhi is additionally learnt to have asked Jhakkar and Kumar pointed questions concerning why Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen. This person left the NSUI, was not accommodated and given a ticket. The two leaders are learnt to have informed Gandhi that the conditions Shokeen had placed were unreasonable. Nevertheless, Gandhi was not happy with the way the matter was handled, stated sources.

En Z cheers Rahul Gandhi, then votes ABVP in Delhi campus polls: What's going wrong.

Meanwhile, the NSUI failed to win a single post in the four-member DUSU central panel.

While Shokeen was elected vice-president, the RSS-linked student outfit ABVP won the president, secretary, and joint-secretary posts.

Shokeen has been active in student politics since 2023 and served as a student representative in his college. He campaigned for the NSUI in the 2023 and 2024 elections and sought its organisational ticket in 2025, but was not selected. After allegedly again failing to obtain a ticket, he decided to contest independently, this year.

Senior Congress leader Amitabh Dubey dismissed reports of the NSUI denying Shokeen a ticket, labelling the claim false. "He was offered the President's ticket. It he turned down. He then chose to contest the position of VP as an independent. Why would he not want to be President?" Dubey wrote on X. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

Taken together, the developments around why Rahul Gandhi summoned Kanhaiya Kumar and what he asked point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.