AUSG 2026 Election Results: Quorum not met for most seats; re-election timeline released

The results for the Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) 2026-27 elections were announced at 10:30 PM on Sunday, May 10th by Ashoka University Election Commission (AUEC) via an email to the student body. Horizon candidates Ayush Solapurkar (UG ‘27) and Kriti Chibber (UG ‘28), got the highest vote share for both President and General Secretary posts. However, elections for both posts stand invalid as the “required quorum threshold” of 40% votes was not met. The minimum quorum threshold for President and General Secretary seats was 1325 seats, out of which only 1292 and 1139 valid votes were cast respectively. 

(In picture: the vote tally for President and General Secretary shared by the AUEC)

Among all the seats contested, the voter turnout for General Secretary was the lowest, standing at just 34.38%.

The Second Year Council elected all 4 members, with a voter turnout of 51.97%. Members elected are Fathima Fida B, Shrey Agarwal, Anika Kumar, and Aditi Vadhavkar (all UG ‘29). Of the candidates, all except Agarwal (who is an Independent) were contesting from Horizon. 

The three candidates elected for the Third Year Council (UG ‘28) are Aditya Deshakulkarani (Horizon), Asewe Letro (Horizon), and Shatakshi Shelly (Independent). AUEC has declared that NOTA has won the fourth seat in the Third Year Council Election and by-elections for the same will be conducted. 

The Fourth Year Council did not meet the quorum threshold and hence is invalid. Anmol Agarwal, the only candidate contesting from the cohort, was elected to the Masters’ council with a vote share of 88%. There were no nominations received for the PhD council, and the seat remains vacant.

Even though AUEC reopened the elections for 24 hours for the YIF and late graduate cohorts, both of whom collectively are 116 in number, the minimum quorum requirement for most of the seats could not be reached. 

In a communication with The Edict, AUEC said that “One major factor was definitely the compressed nature of the election timeline. Because the election process itself began relatively late, campaigning and voting happened during a particularly hectic academic period for many students, which likely affected participation”. They also mentioned that the quorum requirement of 40% is quite high for university wide positions like president and general secretary, and has been increased over time from 35%. About the increase in quorum threshold, AUEC also mentioned “The Code itself envisions this threshold increasing progressively over the years until it eventually reaches 50%, so the benchmark for constituting a valid election has become significantly stricter”.

According to the election code, elections cannot happen during an academic recess, i.e., Winter Break, Summer Break, and Midterm Break (Sec. 9.1.l). However, the code also mentions that the election timeline “may be modified by the AUEC when deemed necessary”. (sec. 9.1.a) 

The AUEC, in an email on May 13th, has communicated the following timeline for the by-elections and re-elections:

13th May 2026		Candidate Registration opens
14th May 2026	8 PM	Candidate Registrations Close / Final Candidates List Released / Campaign Period Begins
17th May 2026	12:00 PM	Campaign Period Ends
17th May - 18th May 2026	12:00 PM - 12:00 PM	Silence Period
18th May - 20th May 2026	12:00 PM - 12:00 PM	Voting period
20th May 2026	6:00 PM	Final results declared to the student body

The email contains form links for students to self-nominate themselves for the elections. The re-election is being conducted for the Fourth Year Council because of non fulfilment of the quorum requirement and the by-elections are being conducted for the Third Year Council’s one vacant seat which was previously won by NOTA. The President and General Secretary posts are also up for re-election. The minimum

quorum requirement of 40% votes for the election to be considered valid, remains the same.

In communication with The Edict, AUEC said that “Our focus now is on ensuring that the re-elections and by-elections are conducted smoothly and that all eligible sections of the student body are able to participate fully in the process”.

(Edited by Avika Mantri)