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PU polls: How CYSS, others were swept aside
CYSS, which had put together a stellar run in the 2022 PU polls, lost steam towards the tail end, getting caught up in high-profile visits and election razzmatazz
The high-octane campaign run by the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, failed to find favour with student voters. That despite a state minister and a legislator who himself remained involved in Panjab University’s student politics spearheading their charge.
CYSS, which had put together a stellar run to the saddle in its maiden election in 2022, appeared ready to romp home again from the beginning.
Days before electioneering was to start, the Punjab government also sanctioned ₹50 crore for hostels and the student outfit went tom-toming about it through the campaign.
However, a series of events built a steady wave against them in the run up to polls and resulted in the eventual drubbing. Those on the campus say students were wary of the constant appearances of Punjab’s AAP leaders on campus even when the varsity had banned the same.
With the “politicisation” being viewed unfavourably, CYSS’ opponents spotted opportunity and held protests against the same. Allegations of the outfit’s supporters thrashing a Panjab University Students’ Union leader days ahead of polls further hit the party’s prospects.
CYSS’ state president Sanjeev Chaudhary admits that the last episode affected them, maybe even swinging “around 400 votes” away from them.
Assessing the loss, AAP legislator Davinderjeet Singh Laddi Dhose who was in-charge of the campaign said, “It is perhaps anti-incumbency. It is harder for any party to win a second time and we perhaps didn’t communicate the work that we have done properly to the students.”
For Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the blow was bigger as 2023 marked the second straight year when their candidate came within touching distance of a win only to fall short again. Rubbing salt in the wounds, it was another party turncoat, Jatinder Singh, that won the president’s seat for National Students’ Union of India.
The student wing of Shiromani Akali Dal, which had won the post of PUCSC president in 2019, came in a distant fourth with 996 votes. The party was in an alliance with Indian National Students Organisation and Himachal Pradesh Students Union. The leaders say year-long concerted efforts would be required to win students’ confidence and win a post.
Revival continued to appear a daunting task for homegrown parties Students of Panjab University (SOPU) and Panjab University Students Union (PUSU). The two outfits that reigned supreme on campus for decades, came a cropper.
In a solace, the parties’ cadre appears to be still intact and winning elections for them on college campuses. “We will have to devise some new mechanism to fight national parties with deep pockets,” a leader commented.
Students For Society (SFS), which had staged a surprise victory in 2018 by winning the president’s post with Kanupriya at the helm, also failed to make a leave this year. It garnered a paltry 621 votes despite the candidate Prateek Kumar being a student of University Institute of Technology (UIET), which has 2,527 voters and is the biggest department in PU.
SIDELIGHTS:
There goes the broom
Buoyed by the result, NSUI supporters assembled near the gymnasium hall, chanted slogans while carrying their leaders on their shoulders. The group playfully mocked CYSS by tearing off a broom, the symbol of the student wing’s parent Aam Aadmi Party.
Euphoria fading
The lack of the usual euphoria associated with the student polls was noticeably missing from the elections this year, with the campus drawing smaller crowds amid heightened security. The oft-buzzing Student Centre also only saw the occasional celebration.
Media personnel make way
After being awarded the victory certificate, an overjoyed Jatinder Singh dashed out of the gymnasium hall. With media personnel eagerly awaiting his comments, microphones were set out neatly on a table right outside. However, NSUI supporters engaged in heated arguments with mediapersons and even pushed them around.
No room for ruckus
The Student Center saw a small group of outsiders create ruckus in an inebriated state, hurling profanities, only to be nabbed by alert policemen in no time. Police apprehended one of the outsiders, but he was released after a warning.
Digvijay on campus
Following INSO’s big win in the secretary race, the party’s former national president and JJP principal general secretary Digvijay Chautala, made his way to the PU campus, where he mingled with students and congratulated party cadre on their triumph.
Congrats team
Congress leader Barinder Dhillon also paid a visit to the campus on Wednesday to extend congratulations to the dedicated students who contributed to NSUI’s victory.
