PU POLLS: Eight in fray for presidential post

Tribune News Service

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, October 13

The final phase of the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) rolled out with the announcement of the candidates after withdrawals today. The polling will be held on October 18.

Eight candidates are in the fray for the post of president while four are running for secretary. Only three candidates will contest the post of vice-president and six are vying for joint secretary.

In a major boost to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), regional parties, the Indian National Students Organisation (INSO), Himachal Students Union (HIMSU) and the Himachal Pradesh Students’ Union (HPSU), decided to contest the elections together. While the ABVP will contest the post of president, INSO will fight for secretary and joint secretary. The HPSU and HIMSU have agreed to field their candidate for the post of vice-president. The AAP-backed Chatr-Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) has joined hands with the Indian Students’ Association (ISA) and the Panjab University Helping Hands (PUHH) to contest the elections.

It’s Haryana-HP vs Punjab?

Today’s merger indicated the elections will witness a regional divide. While the ABVP is backed by the student unions of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the other political groups are being supported by the supporters from Punjab. The regional vote share is likely to play a main role in the formation of the new PUCSC.

“Definitely, it’s a regional fight now. Most presidential candidates are form Punjab, but the students from Himachal and Haryana have a good vote share here. The division of votes will play a vital role this year,” said a former student leader.

SOPU vanishes from scene

It was shocking to see the final list has no mention of candidates from the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU). One of the oldest contenting parties of the campus, SOPU is not fighting a single seat this time. “It’s very surprising. The party, which had a stronghold once, has completely vanished from the fray. In past few years, its vote share had decreased after senior student leaders of the party joined other parties,” said Prateek, a former student of the university.

Over 15,000 to vote at 163 booths

To date, 15,028 students are eligible to cast vote on October 18. The number of voters is likely to go up as the PU authorities have decided to allow new students, admitted till October 17, to cast their vote. Also, a total of 163 polling booths will be set up against 167 booths last elections. “The number of polling booths has decreased as there’s no contest on posts of department representatives,” said a university official.

PUCSC candidates

President

• Aayush Khatkar (CYSS)
• Bhawanjot Kaur (SFS)
• Gurjeet Singh (PSU-L)
• Gurwinder Singh (NSUI)
• Harish Gujjar (ABVP)
• Jodh Singh (PU Sath)
• Madhav Sharma (SOI)
• Shivali (PUSU)

Vice President

• Asim Charas (HIMSU+HPSU)
• Harshdeep Singh Batth (NSUI)
• Samarbir Singh Kamboj (PUSU)

Secretary

• Pravesh Bishnoi (INSO)
• Sagar Bawa (NSUI)
• Saksham Garg (PUSU)
• Vishwajeet Singh (Independent)

Joint Secretary

• Aatish Sharma (PUSU), Amarkant Pradhan (INSO)
• Bhavya (ISA+PUHH)
• Deepak Kumar Meena (Independent)
• Manish Boora (NSUI), Navpreet Kaur (PU Sath)

From Colleges

GGDSD College

President Gurbaz Singh Batth, Ritik Shukla, Sukhmanpreet Kaur

Vice-President Akshdeep Singh Nagpal, Alisha Massy, Jasmeen Kaur

Secretary Lakshay, Shaurya Raj Miglani

Joint Secretary Ansh Goyal, Arsh Kumar Batra, Raghav Chauhan

DAV College

President Pushpinder, Tarandeep Singh

Vice-President Rubal Singh,

Vishu Kumar

Secretary Paras Prashar, Tanvir

SGGS College

President Harinder Singh Punia (BA I), Pargat Kumar, Suresh Kumar

Vice-President Ankit, Balkar Singh, Manav, Nitin Mehra

Secretary Apoorva, Akashdeep Singh, Daksh Bhatti, Mayank Sharma (BCOM2), Sunny

Joint Secretary Akram Khan, Manjot Singh, Simran

PGGC-11

President Anuj Sharma, Himanshu Arora

Secretary Prajval, Prem

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.