Meet Deepanshu Shokeen, barefoot candidate who swept DUSU VP contest

A resident of Peeragarhi village in West Delhi, Shokeen said his four years as a student shaped his decision to enter student politics. He completed his BA Programme from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College and is now pursuing a Master’s in Buddhist Studies in the Faculty of Arts. He has also been a UPSC aspirant, he said.

Just days before the election, Shokeen had allegedly walked away from the Congress-affiliated NSUI after he was told to contest for the president’s post, sources in NSUI had said. Shokeen, however, had claimed that he was not given a ticket by NSUI.

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

“Twenty minutes mein (within 20 minutes)”, he told The Indian Express, recalling how long it took him to make the decision.

When asked about the party decision to deny candidates tickets leading up to two rebel NSUI candidates this time, Leni S Jadhav

Shokeen said some students he had approached during the campaign told him that although he had fought a good election, he would not win. The margin, he said, was his answer to them.

Asked whether he might eventually return to NSUI, he did not rule it in or out. “I cannot say anything; I do not know yet what I will do,” he said.

Shokeen looked unfazed amid the counting frenzy. “I expected to win, but not by such a margin. But what lies ahead is the most important thing for me to think about,” he said.

He had pledged not to wear shoes while raising the issue of student accommodation, which became particularly prominent after the September 6 building collapse in Satya Niketan.

“I had promised that I would first sit on a protest,” he said, pointing to his bare feet.

While student housing remained his key electoral issue, the other issues he focussed on included infrastructure, implementation of the National Education Policy, fee hikes and transparency.

His campaign stood out in an election dominated by the large convoys and mobilisation of the major student organisations. Shokeen instead emphasised his direct connect with students, describing those campaigning with him as “genuine students” and pointing to support from students in his neighbourhood, Peeragarhi.

He said he had seen students face the same problems he had faced, prompting him to enter student politics so future batches would not have to go through the same issues.

Shokeen said student politics should not be about electoral politics alone. “It should be for student rights, student voices,” he added.

In an X post on Saturday, Shokeen thanked DU students, saying the victory belonged to students who wanted to raise “real issues” on campus.

For now, he said, his focus was on the work ahead.

Asked about his first priority, he had a one-word answer: “Hostels.”

He then walked away, barefoot again.