Panjab University: Grand old party PUSU won’t contest president post

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 27

The Panjab University Student Union, which once reigned the Panjab University Campus Student Council, today announced its candidate for the council elections to be held on September 5. The campus union, established in 1977, will be contesting only the post of general secretary this time.

The union has always contested the president’s seat since its inception. This is the first time that the party, which gave a platform to student leaders like former MLA Kuljit Nagra and Anandpur Sahib MP Malwinder Kang, will not have a presidential candidate.

Its candidate for the post of general secretary, Amit Banga resigned from the Ambedkar Student Association and was at the forefront of the recent protests on the campus over the post-metric scholarship issue. The university had been demanding fee from the beneficiaries, while they had not received the amount from the Panjab Government. Banga joined PUSU recently.

Former PUSU campus president Gurlal Laddi, who was present during the announcement made at the Student Centre, said the involvement of parties, which were associated with mainstream political parties, was the reason PUSU was not fighting the top council post. “These parties have involved their money and muscle power in the elections meant for students of the campus. They are directly linked to their MLAs and ministers who help them in all possible ways. We are a student-oriented party run by students itself,” said Laddi. He also said the students had lost interest in politics meant for them. “Without students’ support, nobody can do much,” he added.

Nishant Kaushal was the last council president elected from PUSU in 2016. He is now associated with the AAP student wing, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti. He said students believed that student organisations affiliated with mainstream parties were better since the latter would provide options to scale mainstream political positions. “The student parties don’t have organising structures these days. The mainstream political parties are better at managing cadre and since the NSUI, ABVP and CYSS have entered the campus political arena, student parties have lost ground,” said Kaushal.

Fields Banga on post of general secy

The Panjab University Student Union, which was established in 1977, has always contested the president’s seat since its inception. It is contesting only the post of general secretary this time and announced the candidature of Amit Banga, who had resigned from the Ambedkar Student Association.