Despite trips, parties, PU student outfits file expenses under ₹5,000

As per Lyngdoh guidelines, candidates were supposed to submit expenditure details within two weeks of poll results

Even after organising trips, parties and distributing T-shirts during campaigning, the student organisations of Panjab University have managed to show their total spending below ₹5,000, as they submitted expenditure details to the authorities on Monday.

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The details were submitted by the student candidates 17 days after the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council elections were held on September 6 at PU. As per the guidelines of the Lyngdoh Commission, the student candidates need to submit their expenditure details within two weeks after the results of polls are declared.

NSUI HIGHEST SPENDER

According to the details given to the university by the student candidates, the highest election expenditure is ₹4,550 by National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) candidate and PUCSC secretary Tegbir Singh. He is followed by Student Organisation of India (SOI) leader and new president, Chetan Chaudhary, who spent ₹4,500.

The least expenditure incurred was by independent candidate Tania Batti. She managed to curtail her expenses to ₹236. The student parties have outlined the expenses on stickers, tents, pamphlets, stationery, charts, etc.

Vice-president of student’s council, Rahul, curtailed his expenses at ₹4,200 and joint secretary of the council Manpreet Singh spent ₹4,450, the details showed.

Before the elections, various student parties had allegedly organised outdoor trips for students to garner support from them. Besides trips, dinner parties, pizza parties and outstation tours were also organised by some student organisations. Yet the parties managed to show their expenditure below ₹5,000.

“Many parties have spent more money during the campaigning and everyone knows about that. The parties are just fulfilling the formalities as university is lenient on the matter,” said Akhil Bhardwaj, a research scholar at Panjab University.

The president of leftist student organisation, Students for Society (SFS), Varinder said, “The student wings of national parties spent lakhs of money while organising disco parties, trips, etc to lure students. The authorities know well about this practice but still fail to act on it.”

Besides showing fewer expenses, all the candidates have filed their expenditure details late. According to the Lyngdoh guidelines, the candidature of the candidate, in that case, can be nullified.

Mohammad Khaled, a political science professor, said, “The university should implement the Lyngdoh guidelines in high spirit. And if any punitive action is suggested for the violators of the guidelines, the university should follow that course. This is the reflection of the overall political scenario of the country.”