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PU polls 2023: 26 nominations for president’s post, final list to be out today
There are also 29 candidates for the post of vice-president, 21 for secretary and 23 for joint secretary; the polling and results are slated for September 6
As many as 26 candidates are in the race for the post of president in Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) after nominations for elections were filed on Thursday.
The list of approved candidates will be posted at 10 am on Friday, following which nominations can be withdrawn till 12 pm and the final list of candidates will be displayed at 2.30 pm. Polling and results are slated for September 6.
There are also 29 candidates for the post of vice-president, 21 for secretary and 23 for joint secretary.
Student parties field multiple candidates for each post to ensure there are back-ups if their main candidate’s nomination is cancelled.
Meanwhile, high drama was witnessed on Thursday, after an objection was filed against the candidature of Rajkaran Baidwan, the presidential pick for the home-grown Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU).
An MSc first-year student at the department of anthropology, Baidwan had joined PUSU recently after being suspended by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress.
While his candidature was cleared by the department, an objection was filed with the dean students’ welfare (DSW) office. A panel looked into his candidature and found an issue with his date of birth, which made him ineligible for contesting the elections. DSW Jatinder Grover remained unavailable for comment.
PUSU president Bhupinder Singh said, “While Baidwan’s name was originally cleared, an objection was filed with the DSW. We have three more eligible candidates and will announce our final presidential face on Friday.”
Even Gurshan Dhaliwal, the top pick for the president’s post by Student Organisation of India (SOI), the student division of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), was unable to get his nomination approved over attendance shortage. He is a student of University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS).
Party’s PU president Harkamal Singh Bhure Gill said, “We had entered four candidates for the post of president. Now, Yuvraj, also from UILS, will contest for the president’s post.”
Meanwhile, Students For Society (SFS) announced Prateek Kumar as their presidential candidate. A fourth-year BTech student at University institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), Kumar hails from Haryana.
Last year, Aayush Khatkar of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of the Aam Aadmi Party, was elected the council president by a margin of 660 votes. The elections were held after a two-year gap owing to the Covid pandemic and this was the first time that the CYSS had contested in the PU polls.
50 from city colleges also enter contest
A total of 50 students from seven city colleges also filed nominations for president’s post for their respective student councils for the 2023-24 session.
At 12, most nominations came from DAV College, Sector 10, followed by eight GGDSD College, Sector 32, and 11 from Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26.
Six students filed papers for the post from Post Graduate Government College for Girls (PGGCG), Sector 11, five each from MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36, and Post Graduate Government College (PGGC), Sector 11, and three from PGGCG, Sector 42.
Along with this, 52 students from these colleges filed nominations for the post of vice-president; 54 for the post of secretary and 45 for the post of joint secretary.
The final list after withdrawal of nominations will be released on Friday.
NSUI leaders clash at DAV College
During the filing of nominations at DAV College, Sector 10, NSUI leaders clashed with each other over a disagreement. Subsequently, the college administration removed all students from the premises. Outside the college gate, members of different student organisations, along with outsiders, began raising slogans, but a group of students pacified the situation. DSP Gurmukh Singh reached the spot to manage the situation. Meanwhile, a student leader brought a tractor that was intercepted by police.
Students files police complaint against SD college
Aman, a first-year BA student, filed a police complaint against the authorities at GGDSD College, Sector 32, for not accepting his nomination form. The student alleged that he wished to submit nomination for the post of vice-president from Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS). While the nomination window was open from 9.30 am to 10.30 am, Aman arrived late due to a tiff between political parties. He reached the venue at 10.25 am and joined the nomination queue but his form was not accepted. College principal Ajay Kumar claimed no student was denied the chance to submit their nomination by 10.30 am: “Furthermore, neither the principal nor the grievance redressal committee has received any such complaint. It’s all baseless propaganda.”
Student parties join hands at colleges
Three political parties Hindustan Student Association (HSA), Himachal Pradesh Students Union (HPSU) and Himachal Students Union (HIMSU) have formed alliance for the students’ council elections at DAV College. Similarly, SOI and ABVP have joined hands for this election. At GGDSD College, HIMSU, Sanatan Dharam College Union and ABVP have forged an alliance. Similarly, NSUI and HPSU will also contest the elections together.
