AUSG Vice-President Ahana Walanju announces Resignation

On Monday evening, February 9th 2026, Ahana Walanju (UG '26), Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) Vice President, announced her resignation from her position in the AUSG. In her mail to the student body, Walanju said that the conditions under which she entered AUSG no longer aligned with its current direction, noting a "shift in the vision and working environment of the Student Government." 

Walanju ran for Vice-Presidential office under the United Student Front (USF) banner in the 2025 elections, alongside Presidential candidate Insha Husain (UG ‘26). She has worked alongside Husain and the House of Representatives (HoR) since the start of the academic year. Her mail, titled "Reflections and Resignation from the Student Government," also acknowledged fellow AUSG members amidst the constant movement from one crisis to another — "I recollect contributing to the scanner demonstrations in January 2025[…] changes in residence life policies, to the workers’ strike, to the winter break challenges".

Speaking to The Edict, Walanju elaborated on the cited shift in the working climate of the AUSG, with decreasing accountability and a lack of proactiveness. “Anyone in general in the SG should be held accountable for themselves… and I think that accountability mechanism itself was lost. I don't think anyone was holding each other accountable for a job that they should have been doing.” According to her, this led to the disproportionate distribution of work, as some members failed to meet the “expectations that were set,” affecting a healthy working environment. Walanju further noted the broader patterns of inactivity within the AUSG, pointing out the irregularity of HoR meetings and attendance records, and difficulty in publishing regular updates on the AUSG Public Information Drive. She added she was concerned by the failure to implement routine government policies and procedures.

Responding to whether there was a change in USF’s vision, Walanju backed the collective’s ideological continuity: “I think the ideology has remained the same. I think it manifested during times like the workers’ strike, where we saw several USF members come together and fight.” However, Walanju noted that a similar vision and activism failed to translate to the AUSG. 

She noted that the capacity of independent student collectives, such as USF, was curtailed as they transitioned into elected roles, since they had to navigate “an endless bureaucratic network.” “At the end of the day, we are financially reliant on the administration, [which] in a great way sort of obstructs the work we really want to do,” she said. Walanju also noted the lack of engagement and connection of AUSG with the student body. She said that the university’s relatively privileged socio-economic demographics must be co-opted into advocacy efforts, beyond being a point of critique. 

According to the AUSG Constitution, “In case of a vacancy in the Vice-President’s office, the President shall nominate a House member for the position of Acting Vice-President, requiring a two-thirds majority of the existing House members to confirm the appointment.” As of the writing of this article, there has been no communication about the appointment of an Acting Vice-President or a statement regarding either the resignation or the vacancy. 

(Edited by Fatema Tambawalla)