Delhi University’s Political Legacy: Arun Jaitley To Rekha Gupta, Past Presidents Who Rose To The Top – Delhi News Daily

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Congress leader Ajay Maken, and former Union minister Arun Jaitley were all DUSU presidents. (Image: PTI/AFP/File)

The RSS-affiliated ABVP won the key post of president in the high-octane Delhi University Students’ Union elections on Friday.

Retaining its strong presence on the Delhi University campus, the ABVP won two other posts out of four on the panel and lost one to the NSUI.

It should be noted that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, a member of the ABVP in the 1990s, is a former president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU).

There have, however, been many others who started as student leaders on this very campus and went onto become prominent politicians – from former Union minister Arun Jaitley to Congress leader Ajay Maken, they served  as DUSU presidents in the past and have reaffirmed DU’s status as a training ground for future political leaders.

Here’s a look at past DUSU presidents who became top politicians:

Rekha Gupta, Delhi CM

The only woman on this list, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was the DUSU president in 1996-97. Together with the BJP, she managed to break the lull in student leaders rising to top political posts. Gupta joined the ABVP in 1992 as a student of Daulat Ram College. Her political career before becoming the CM was slow-moving – from her journey as a BJP councillor in 2007 and 2012 to the mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation in her second stint as a councillor. In the 2025 Delhi assembly elections, she won with a massive margin of 68,200 votes from the Shalimar Bagh (North-West) constituency.

Arun Jaitley, former Union finance minister

The late BJP leader, Arun Jaitley, was the DUSU president in 1974-75 during the politically intense Emergency period starting with the JP movement. An ABVP leader, he was rounded up and sent to jail when the Indira Gandhi-led regime imposed the Emergency. As the Union finance minister, he is known for implementing demonetisation and the first GST regime. He was a prominent alma mater of the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and the faculty of law in DU. A top lawyer and BJP veteran, Jaitley died on August 24, 2019 at the age of 66.

Vijay Goel, former Union minister

Another prominent voice during the 1975 Emergency, Vijay Goel was the DUSU president in 1977. Like Jaitley, he too became the president of the student council during a key period of India’s political history. He was known for his protests against the Emergency and later became a minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government. He was Jaitley’s junior in the ABVP. “I climbed on the roof of the coffee shop at the law faculty, covering myself with anti-Emergency placards, and raised slogans till I got tired, as the police were not able to climb the thatched roof. But eventually they arrested me and sent me to Tihar jail,” he told The Indian Express. He was an alma mater of the SRCC and Faculty of Law at DU.

Ajay Maken, former Union minister

As the youngest cabinet minister of the second UPA regime at the age of 48, Congress leader Ajay Maken was known as the face of the youth during his time in key roles in the central and Delhi governments. He was the DUSU president at the age of 21 in 1985. He has held the portfolios for urban development and youth affairs and is known to be among the most notable DU alumni. He studied at Hansraj College, quickly rising through the political ranks. He became an MLA at the age of 29 and parliamentary secretary to then Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit at only 34. As part of the Delhi government, he was instrumental in the national capital’s shift to CNG for public transport on the order of the Supreme Court. In 2004, he became an MoS for urban development, followed by MoS for home affairs in 2009, and the Union minister of youth affairs and sports in 2012.

Vijender Gupta, Delhi assembly Speaker

Vijender Gupta served as the DUSU vice-president in 1984. His political career started from municipality-level and he is now the Speaker in the Delhi legislative assembly. Another alumni of SRCC, Gupta was in the ABVP during his time at DU. He had a long stint in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) starting 1997. He has previously served as the Delhi BJP president in 2010 and lost the 2013 Delhi assembly election to Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi. In the 2025 polls, he registered a strong win and was elected Speaker of the Delhi assembly.

Other notable names include Delhi minister Ashish Sood (DUSU president in 1988-89 and joint secretary in 1987), Congress leader Alka Lamba (DUSU president in 1995) and BJP leader Vijay Jolly (DUSU president 1980-81).