4 in fray for PUCSC top post

Amarjot Kaur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 31

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Out of 28 candidates who filed their nominations for the post of president of the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC), only four made it to the final list released here today.

While the ABVP has fielded Paras Rattan of the Department of Laws, the NSUI has pegged its hopes on Nikhil Narmeta, a fourth-year student at the UIET. From SOI, Chetan Chaudhary, a first-year student at the Department of Urdu, is in the fray. Priya of the SFS, is a third-year student at the Department of Physics, is the only woman candidate for the post.

Also, 26 students had filed their nominations for the post of vice-president yesterday. After sifting through objections and withdrawals, the names of only four students have been cleared for the post. Two of the contenders are women, including Divya Chopra of the ABVP and Shabana Ansari of the SFI. Rahul Kumar of the NSUI and Ramandeep Markan of the ISA too are contesting the post.

For the post of secretary, 32 nominations were received. Of them, only four made it to the final list, leaving Gagandeep Singh Sidhu of PUSU, Gaurav Duhan of the INSO, Sehajpreet Singh and Tegbir Singh of the NSUI in the fray. 

Of the 28 nominations received for the post of joint secretary, only six made it to the final list. Ajay Nain of the HSA, Dheeraj Thakur of HIMSU, Karmbir Singh of SOPU, Manpreet Singh Mahal of the NSUI, Rohit Sharma of the HPSU and Taniya Bhatti, an independent candidate, will be seen battling for the post.

Running for student council President

Priya, 26 | Party: SFS 

The oldest of the lot, also the only woman in the fray for the president’s post, Priya comes armed with an experience of five years in political and social activism. Associated with the SFS since 2014, she is also a member of the Panjab University Research Scholars Association and former secretary of the SFS hostel committee.

Key agenda

• Increasing the recruitment in teaching and non-teaching departments of the PU, to reduce burden on research scholars
• Reduction in the characterisation charges for research scholars
• Proper allocation of funds for infrastructure

Paras Rattan, 23 | party: ABVP + INSO + HPSU

With a one-year experience as the department representative of the Department of Laws, Rattan claims that he was able to get the construction of washrooms, which was pending for 30 years, in the department.

Key agenda

• Heritage status for the PU
• Security of students
• Construction of Girls’ Hostel No. 11 and Boys’ Hostel No. 9

Nikhil Narmeta, 22 Party: NSUI

Not only has Nikhil been a part of the Telangana movement since he was in Class VII, as he informs, but he has also been associated with PUSU. He claims to have introduced the ‘Earn While One Learns’ scheme in his department.

Key agenda

• Regularisation of the self-financed UIET and curbing annual 5 per cent fee hike at the PU
• Getting a dispensary and mini-Student Centre made at the South Campus (Sector 25)
• More internships and placements for science students

Chetan Chaudhary, 23 | party: SOI + PUSU + INSO + ISA

Chetan says he has been associated with SOI since 2015 and was the campus president of the party in 2017. He was the chairperson of SOI last year. 

Key agenda

• Proper placement of students in science and arts blocks
• Providing security for women on the university campus
• Ensuring proper maintenance of solar panels, washing machines and water purifiers, which the SOI were pushed for last year.

16,138 voters

• PU has 16,138 students. 
• NSUI presidential candidate Nikhil from the UIET (2,638 students) is in tough fight with ABVP’s Paras Rattan, who is from Law Dept (1,100 students). 
• The least number of students, 45, are from SOI candidate’s Dept of Urdu. Priya of SFS is from Dept of Physics, which has about 400 students.