Navdeep Goyal group retains majority

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 18

Prof Navdeep Goyal’s group retained majority in Panjab University (PU) Syndicate as its 13 members got elected to 15-member House. Ashok Goyal surprised with two victories as he managed to cause defection in the rival’s camp.

The Syndicate and the Senate are governing bodies of the PU. Elections to the Syndicate are held every year where the Senators vote as per their faculties.

Eleven members of Navdeep Goyal’s group got elected unopposed but victories of two prominent rival leaders-Ashok Goyal and Prof Keshav Malhotra turned the victory little sour. Last time, Navdeep Goyal had all its 15 members elected unopposed.

The stakes were so high this times that Punjab Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary and two Punjab MLAs, Raj Kumar, from Chabbewal, and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, from Ludhiana West-came to cast their votes in medical faculty.

Ashok Goyal group received more number of votes both in medical and language faculties than their actual numbers.

Medical faculty

In medical faculty, Ashok Goyal got highest number of votes at 20 followed by Prof Rajat Sandhir and Dr RK Mahajan, who both got 19. Both Sandhir and Mahajan are from Navdeep Goyal’s group. Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) President Prof Rajesh Gill received 16.

Sandhir and Mahajan then opted for re-polling, as per rules, where Mahajan got 21votes and Sandhir received six.

Ashok Goyal and Mahajan were declared elected.

Languages faculty

In languages faculty, Prof Keshav Malhotra and Assistant Prof Praveen Goyal, both from Ashok Goyal’s group, were contesting against Dr Subhash Sharma and Dr Ajay Ranga, both from the Navdeep Goyal’s group.

Dr Shubash Sharma with 20 votes and Prof Keshav Malhotra with 19 got elected while Ranga got 18 and Praveen Goyal received 18. Here Dr Sharma and Prof Malhotra were declared elected.

11 elected unopposed

Chandigarh BJP president Sanjay Tandon, Prof Ronki Ram, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Professor in political science department, and assistant professor Ameer Sultana, chairperson of the Centre for Women Studies, all from the Navdeep Goyal’s group, were elected unopposed from Arts Faculty.

Also, from the same group, Dr Satish Sharma, president of the DAV College Management Committee, Navdeep Goyal himself and Prof Anita Kaushal, principal of PGGCG, Sector 11, were elected unopposed from combined faculties.

The combined faculty comprises of Business management and commerce; dairying, animal husbandry and agriculture; design and fine arts; education; engineering and technology and pharmaceutical sciences.

In science faculty also, Navdeep Goyal group reigns supreme with Prabhjeet Singh, Dr Amit Joshi, from Sri Guru Gobind Singh (SGGS) College, Sector 26, and Dr SS Sangha, principal of the Dasmesh Girls College of Education, Muktsar, were elected unopposed. In law faculty, from the same group Gurjot Malhi, retired IPS officer, and Inderpal Singh Sidhu, assistant professor, SGGS College-26,were elected unopposed.

“People are not slaves. Election is the only process to know how many people are with you. We are a pro PU group and not anti-Vice Chancellor (VC). This time we have challenged the rivals to stop wrongdoing and pick and choose, and for transparency. PU doesn’t belong to few individuals. We contested to demonstrate mood of the Senate,” said Ashok Goyal.

When asked how he breached the rivals’ camp, he replied, “We never calculated how many we would get. I don’t know who all have voted for me...Right is might and not might is right.”

Prof Navdeep Goyal, chairperson, physics department, said, “We lost two seats by just one vote each. Some of the members in Senate were neutral so they might have voted on the other side.”

He added, “We have full majority in the Syndicate. We have defeated PUTA president too.”

Prof Navdeep Goyal leads a coalition of all colours where members of Bharatiya Janta Party, Congress and leftists are one side. He claims support of DAV group, BJP affiliated members, Gosal group, Iqbal Sandhu group, Jagpal Singh group and the one led by Rabindernath Sharma.

Dr Dalip Kumar, who is also from the Navdeep Goyal’s group, has been elected Dean, Dairying, Animal Husbandry and Agriculture unopposed.