Panjab University: Senate elections from August 3

According to the revised schedule submitted in the high court, polling to the eight constituencies of the Panjab University senate will take place on four days between August 3 and 23

Pending for a year, elections to the Panjab University’s senate — its apex governing body — will be held in August.

The senate elections were first scheduled in August last year, but were postponed by Panjab University vice-chancellor due to the pandemic.

According to the revised schedule submitted in the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Friday, polling will start on August 3 with the constituencies of principals and staff of technical and professional colleges. Voting for the constituency of faculties will be held last, on August 23. In the previous election schedules, the faculties was the first constituency to go to the polls.

The senate comprises 91 members, 47 of whom are elected from eight constituencies. While 36 members are nominated by the university chancellor, two are nominated from the Punjab assembly and six are ex-officio members. The four-year term of the previous senate had ended on October 31, 2020.

The elections were first scheduled in August last year, but were postponed by vice-chancellor (V-C) Raj Kumar due to the pandemic. After the HC in April this year pulled up the V-C for the delay, the polls were scheduled from April 26, but had to be postponed again in view of the Covid-19 second wave.

On July 8, the HC had directed the varsity to place on record the senate election schedule by July 16. The revised polling dates were proposed by the varsity and have been approved by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, who is its chancellor.

Voting for the constituency of faculties will be held last, even as earlier it was the first to go to the polls.

According to the election schedule, polling for the registered graduate constituency, which is the largest with 3,61,869 eligible voters, will be held on August 18. The polling for the constituencies of heads and associate/assistant professors of affiliated arts colleges will also be held the same day.

Voting for the constituencies of professors and associate/assistant professors of the university teaching departments will take place on August 10.

Earlier this week, some candidates had alleged that the varsity was trying to tinker with the sequence of the poll schedule of various constituencies. As many as 19 even wrote to the chancellor, seeking instructions to the V-C to hold the polls without altering the sequence. Eyebrows have also been raised on scheduling the polling for the registered graduate constituency on a working day.