Even as the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) collaborated in Chandigarh for the general elections and also remain in alliance at the municipal corporation (MC) level, this bonhomie is unlikely to extend to the upcoming Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) elections which are likely to take place in a month’s time. Student wings of both parties have played down any chance of forming an alliance. Even as the university is situated in Chandigarh, the parties are likely to follow the Punjab model of politics where both parties remain in strong opposition of each other.
Last year, the National Students union of India (NSUI), the student-wing of Congress had staged a comeback after six years with their candidate Jatinder Singh winning the president’s post. He had defeated Divyansh Thakur of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti’s (CYSS), the student wing of AAP, by a margin of 603 votes.
Speaking about their strategy for the upcoming polls, Chandigarh NSUI president Sachin Galav said there have been no internal meetings or talks regarding any alliance with CYSS. “We were able to win by ourselves in the last election and we will be able to repeat the same feat this year as well,” he said. Galav is also a councillor in the Chandigarh MC from Congress. Congress had supported AAP’s mayor candidate Kuldeep Kumar by voting for him. However, he said the politics inside the varsity are separate and different from those in the city.
Even CYSS is not in favour of an alliance. The party’s Chandigarh state president Sanjeev Chaudhary attacking NSUI for its performance in the student council for the 2023-24 session. “An alliance is out of question as NSUI has done nothing for students in their one year of being in power and we would not want to be associated with them. Jhankaar fest is supposed to be the best fest conducted in PU, but it remained a big failure even as president Jatinder Singh was hit with allegations of corruption,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Even CYSS is not in favour of an alliance. The party’s Chandigarh state president Sanjeev Chaudhary attacking NSUI for its performance in the student council for the 2023-24 session. “An alliance is out of question as NSUI has done nothing for students in their one year of being in power and we would not want to be associated with them. Jhankaar fest is supposed to be the best fest conducted in PU, but it remained a big failure even as president Jatinder Singh was hit with allegations of corruption,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Parties focusing on first-year students
While classes for under-graduate courses had commenced earlier, campaigning has started to pick its pace in the varsity. Galav said they are interacting with first-year students to identify the main issue that they are facing. Last year, NSUI had focused on instituting menstrual leaves for students while campaigning which swung the sympathy of voters towards their side. They are looking to identify a similar issue this year.
Even CYSS is working to familiarise themselves with the new students. Chaudhary said a helpline will soon be launched for students to reach out to them if they are facing any issues while party members have also started canvassing at popular spots like the Student Centre.