Youth verdict: 109 candidates, 40k judges for Chandigarh’s Panjab University polls
While Chandigarh has 11 colleges, only 10 will be going to polls, as student council of Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector-26, like previous year, has been elected unopposed
{Student body elections}
Around 40,000 students from 10 city colleges affiliated to Panjab University (PU) will decide the fate of 109 candidates as PU goes for polls on Thursday.
While the city has 11 colleges, only 10 will be going to polls, as student council of Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector-26, like previous year, has been elected unopposed.
Out of the 109 candidates, maximum of 15 candidates are in fray from Dev Samaj College for Girls, Sector 45. Post Graduate Government College for Girls (PGGCG), Sector 11, has 14 candidates; DAV, Sector 10, has 13, PGGCG-42 and PGGC-11 have 12; PGGC-46 has 11; MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36 and GGDSD College, Sector 32 have nine candidates. Government College for Commerce and Business Administration, Sector 50 and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, both have least eight candidates each.
The voting will take place between 9.30 am and 12 pm and students are directed to carry their student identity cards for voting.
On Wednesday, the candidates met the voters personally as the campaigns ended on Tuesday. According to the guidelines, campaigning should end 48 hours before the closing of the voting process. Groups and assemblies are not allowed but candidates were allowed to interact personally with students.
GGDSD-32 election incharge Rajinder Mann said, “ The polling at SD College will start at 9.45 am. Non-teaching and teaching staff have been put on duty.”
“We did orientation sessions to guide and encourage students. We motivate them to follow the democracy. The students were allotted proper place for the campaign. Our political science department also motivated students to vote,” added Mann.
Security beefed up
The security in the 100-metre area outside the colleges has been beefed up to avoid any kind of untoward incident. The electioneering was largely peaceful in these colleges as no untoward incident was reported since elections were announced.
Last year different colleges saw diverse alliances and party affiliations which played a crucial role in shaping the election results. At GGDSD College, the SDCU, HIMSU and ABVP alliance had emerged victorious.
At Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, the Khalsa College Student Union cornered the top posts, while DAV College saw candidates from the SOI and ABVP alliance securing key positions. This year also alliances are expected to play a major role. The results after polling will be announced the same day.