The AISA-SFI alliance's candidates polled fewer votes than NOTA in two of the four central-panel contests in the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections, results of which were declared on Saturday, according to PTI.
The results came amid the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led student mobilisation over alleged examination irregularities, paper leaks, unemployment and demands for greater institutional accountability.
AISA and SFI were among the Left student organisations that took part in the mobilisation at Jantar Mantar, with AISA activists also joining a prolonged hunger strike during the agitation.
AISA-SFI presidential candidate Ananya Raturi secured 5,377 votes, 1,067 more than the 4,310 votes polled for NOTA. In the secretary's contest, Stanzin Deskyong received 8,734 votes, compared with 7,884 for NOTA, a difference of 850 votes, the report said.
The trend was reversed in the other two contests. AISA-SFI vice-presidential candidate Akshat Shikhar polled 2,383 votes, while NOTA received 4,359 votes, giving NOTA a lead of 1,976 votes.
In the joint secretary contest, B Parijaat secured 5,837 votes, against 7,389 votes for NOTA, a difference of 1,552 votes.
The alliance subsequently made student welfare issues, including affordable accommodation, hostel facilities, concessional Metro passes, fee hikes and academic freedom, central to its DUSU campaign, PTI reported.
The AISA-SFI alliance had fielded Raturi for president, Shikhar for vice-president, Deskyong for secretary and Parijaat for joint secretary.
Raturi finished third in the presidential race behind ABVP's Yash Dabas, who won the post with 24,576 votes, and NSUI's Vijay Shankar Meena, who polled 22,523 votes.
In the secretary's contest, Deskyong finished behind ABVP's Riya Chhawdi, who won with 21,650 votes, and NSUI's Namrata Chaudhary, who secured 14,869 votes, according to PTI.
However, the vote figures alone do not establish whether participation in the CJP-led mobilisation translated into electoral support for AISA-SFI.
The alliance's campaign also focused on other student concerns, including accommodation and safety, amid concerns following the Satya Niketan private hostel collapse that killed seven people, including five Delhi University students.
The DUSU election recorded a voter turnout of 40.46 per cent. Counting for the four central-panel posts was held on Saturday.
The ABVP won the president, secretary and joint secretary posts, while independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen emerged victorious in the vice-presidential contest.
(With inputs from PTI)