PU Campus Student Council elections: Infighting-hit parties eye tie-ups with small groups
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 29
Small political groups of students aim to become ‘kingmakers’, as major parties are busy settling infightings ahead of the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections slated for September 5.
On the eve of the withdrawal of nominations and announcement of final candidates, major political groups are pursuing small groups, which enjoy the support of students from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and some parts of Punjab, to contest the elections as one.
Sources claimed that meetings were held throughout the day as some major parties tried to forge an alliance on seat-sharing basis. The final announcement is expected to be made tomorrow.
Even in the last two elections, while the groups backed by mainstream political parties won the presidential seats, those affiliated with the PU or with the regional parties of the neighbourhood states, especially Haryana, performed fairly well.
Last year, the Indian National Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NUSI) won the presidential post, while a PU student group, Sath, won the post of vice-president, and Indian National Students Organisation (INSO), which is backed by Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a major political party of Haryana, won the post of general secretary. A new campus group, PU Helping Hand (PUHH), made a surprise entry to the list by winning the post of joint secretary.
Few days before the voting, the alliance between NSUI, INSO and Himachal Pradesh Students' Union (HPSU) had ended due to some unspecified reasons, while the BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) contested the elections in alliance with the PUHH.
The story was no different in the 2022 elections when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-backed student group, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), won the elections. The NSUI had bagged two important positions and INSO bagged one. The ABVP had an alliance with the HPSU, Himachal Students Union (HIMSU) and INSO.
"After the infighting between the major groups came out in the open, the demand for support of these groups has increased. The PU Students' Union (PUSU), Students Organisation of PU (SOPU), Students Organisation of India (SOI) would also seek an alliance in lieu of contesting one post. The campus parties, including Sath, SFS, PU Lalkar, HSA, ASF, ASA and USO may extend support to certain groups," said a representative of a major political group, which represents Haryana.
Regional groups are expected to play an important role in these elections. The university has a majority of students from Haryana and Punjab. "Regional groups are going to play a very important role by extending support to the major parties. The Congress is in power in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP in Haryana and AAP in Punjab. All these parties have their students' wing contesting the elections, and will be very keen on attracting voters on regional divide," said another representative of a group.
Traffic chaos
The PU campus continued to witness the traffic of ‘swanky’ cars leading to chaos, especially around the Student Centre. Though the entry of outsiders is banned on the campus, the university is witnessing record-breaking arrival of vehicular traffic. While the Sector 14 campus buzzes with activities and traffic, normalcy surrounded the south campus, mainly around the University Institute of Engineering and Technology, which has the highest number of voters.
