PU students to elect their representatives on Sept 3

Panjab University authorities released the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) election schedule today. The voting will be held on September 3, followed by the announcement of results the same day.

As per the schedule, the voting will start at 9.30 am and the results will be out by the evening. With the official announcement of the poll schedule, the code of conduct has come into force on the campus.

“The elections will be held on September 3. The voting will commence at 9.30 am and the counting will start by 12 noon. With this announcement, the code of conduct has come into force, and all political groups have been asked to stop rallies. Using print material and any other activity will require the permission of the competent authority,” said Prof Amit Chauhan, Dean Student Welfare (DSW).

As the admission process is still underway, the total strength of the student voters will be officially declared after August 31. “We will have roughly 16,500 voters. As the admission process is still underway, we are yet to get official numbers. Also, the students, who will get admissions till September 2, will be allowed to vote in the PUCSC elections. All other details, including the number of booths, counting agendas and printing of list, will follow soon,” added Chauhan.

400 cops deployed

The campus will be guarded by more than 400 police personnel, besides the university security staff. The paramilitary forces will also be called ahead of the voting. “A detailed security layer has been planned and the respective officials informed about it. The university aims to conduct a peaceful election, but those perpetrating any crime or violating rules will be treated accordingly,” said Chauhan.

Recently, students protested excessive presence of the police force on the campus, which was later trimmed. From Monday onwards, the presence of police is most likely to be retained. The campus is already witnessing nakas, one-way traffic restrictions and round-the-clock vigil.

CCTV Camera vigil to be stepped up

The authorities have decided to install 30 cameras at “dark spots” and outside hostels to monitor the situation. A control room will be set up by the Chandigarh Police to keep a watch on rallies. Meanwhile, the university claimed that nearly 400 day scholars have applied for the mandatory entry/parking stickers. The last date to apply for the same is August 25. “From August 26, the university security will start stopping four-wheelers not bearing the strikers or not applying for it online. This is mandatory,” said Chauhan.

The restriction has been introduced only for day scholars, and is aimed at curbing illegal activities often linked to polls.

Rallies after nominations

The political groups will be allowed time to take out rallies across the campus or hostels. After nominations and the release of final list of candidates, permission for the same will be given as per the requests of the political groups.

Last year, Anurag Dalal created history by winning the PUCSC presidential election as an independent candidate. Dalal, who formed the Democratic Students’ Front (DSF) just days before the polling, secured 3,433 votes, defeating his nearest contender Prince Chaudhary of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) by a margin of 303 votes. The other winners included Archit Garg of the NSUI (vice-president), who bagged 3,631 votes, defeating his nearest rival Sath’s Karanpreet Singh with a margin of 1,035 votes; Vineet Yadav of INSO (3,298 votes) for the post of secretary, and Jasvinder Rana of ABVP (3,489) for the joint secretary position. The 2024 elections witnessed over 30 foot rallies by various political groups.