3 days before Panjab University election, student groups finally campaign at UIET Dept

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 2

Merely three days before the elections to the Panjab University Campus Student Council, the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), which has the highest number of voters in the university, finally saw the ritualistic campaign by different parties today.

The party members made sure that the fervour remained high during the campaign by throwing party panel code stickers and cards in air. It seemed that they were trying to make sure that the campus ground gets littered with thousand of pamphlets and stickers, in violation of the rules set by the JM Lyngdoh Committee in 2006.

The department, which has 2,518 voters as of now, had been witnessing a cold campaign this time, as only one presidential candidate — Tarun Sidhu of Student Organisation of India (SOI), student wing of SAD — is from this department. However, it seems that the students and their leaders realised the value of this department and it saw the ‘josh’, which had been missing for the past many days. The Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), which is contesting for president seat, along with its allies Indian National Student’s Organisation (INSO), United Student Organisation (USO) and Himachal Pradesh Student’s Union (HPSU), which are aiming for the posts of secretary, vice president and joint secretary, respectively, made the canvassing interesting when members picked up the candidates on their shoulders, raising slogans.

With the CYSS at the forefront, which did not even have a candidate from the UIET Department, it seemed a must for the SOI to stage a show of strength on the campus right parallel to the CYSS gathering. Moreover, they had to indulge in a similar show to counter the CYSS supporters for their presidential candidate Sidhu, who had recently changed loyalty and left the CYSS for the SOI.

In what looked like a competition of sloganeering, screaming and littering the ground with pamphlets and stickers, party members remained fully dedicated. The campus, which usually is ignored by student leaders throughout the year, became a hot bed of activities today ahead of elections scheduled for September 5.

The National Students’ Organisation of India, which has been weakened after the Sikander Boora-led rebels left the party to make Democratic Students’ Front (DSF) in alliance with the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Himachal Student Union (HIMSU), also had to jump into the campaigning bandwagon and put up a big show of strength.

While the triangular contest was taking place, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members preferred not to join since they were few in numbers there. Later, they also indulged in a less enthusiastic show of strength event on the campus. It is yet to be seen if the UIET Department becomes the deciding factor for candidates in the fray for PUCSC election.

Show-cause notice over defacement

As many as five candidates from the ABVP, PUSU, NSUI and Team Mukul were issued show-cause notice by the PU authorities over defacement of the campus. They have been asked to submit replies within 24 hours and the fine levied on them will be added to their expenditure calculated after the election.