It is a crisp Wednesday morning in Chandigarh, and the atmosphere at Panjab University (PU) is charged with anticipation. Students had been eagerly waiting for this day for months, as it marked the beginning of the PU campus Students Council (PUCSC) elections. At least 15,693 student will decide the fate of 21 student leaders who are contesting for the positions of president, vice president, secretary, and joint secretary of PUCSC.
PU is renowned not only for its academic excellence but also its vibrant student community. It has a long-standing tradition of nurturing student leadership and giving students a voice in shaping their educational experience. Further, these polls play a vital role in representing the interests of its diverse student population.
The polling will start from 9:30 am onwards in 179 polling booths set up in various departments of the varsity and will conclude at 11:00 am. Afterwards, the counting of votes will start from noon onwards and the final result will be declared in the varsity's Gymnasium Hall.
Of the 21 student leaders, nine are contesting for the coveted position of president of the council. They include, Jatinder Singh from Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI), Yuvraj Garg from Shiromani Akali Dal-affiliated Students Organisation of India (SOI), Rakesh Deshwal from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Divyansh Thakur from Aam Aadmi Party-affiliated Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), Prateek Kumar from Students for Society (SFS), Davinder Pal Singh from Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), Manika from PSU Lalkaar and Saksham Singh, an independent candidate. Of these nine candidates, only three are from student-led organisations and one is independent. Manika is the sole woman candidate contesting for the presidential candidate position.
In the run-up to the polls, issues ranging from ensuring basic amenities on the campus, providing menstrual leave to women students, better connectivity between the north and south campus of PU, better placements, and restricting the influence of MPs and MLAs in the student body polls dominated the campaigning by various student bodies.
While campaigning for women students, Jatinder from NSUI said, "The issue of menstrual leaves is never talked about on the campus. We promise you to provide at least 2 menstrual leaves per month, ensuring better women's health and gender equality on the campus." On the other hand, presidential candidates from PSU Lalkaar and SFS criticised political parties backed by student organisations and political leaders for their involvement in the affairs of student council elections. Prateek from SFS, while campaigning promised, "Fixed fee structure in the varsity, recruitment of regular teaching faculty and establishment of central placement cell."
Yesterday, PSU Lalkaar released a satirical song on the influence of money and muscle power used by political parties backed by student organisations, titled, "Patt Lo Sticker Patt Lo." In their song, they took a satirical plunge on how big political leaders and the members of student wings roam in cars on campus but do not talk about the issues of students. A few days ago, a scuffle also broke out over the presence of AAP MLA Davinderjeet Singh Laddi Dhos at the PU campus. Laddi is appointed as PU election in-charge for CYSS. Other student organisations protested his presence and stated that what is the purpose of a political leader on campus when these elections are meant for students.
The PU student body polls were not free from violence either. Just two days back, the presidential candidate from PUSU Davinder Pal Singh was beaten up by a group of students, which led to uproar and condemnation from various student organisations. Davinder alleged that he was attacked by the members of CYSS. However, CYSS stated that those students were not their members and refused allegations leveled against them by PUSU. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up today, and around 1200 police personnel have been deployed for election duty at the PU campus and its affiliated colleges in Chandigarh.
Social media has emerged as a new player in the political landscape of student body polls. What sets this trend apart is not just the use of social media as a megaphone for campaign promises, but the innovative strategies employed by aspiring PUCSC candidates such as the song released by the members of PSU Lalkaar.
But at the same time, there is a dark side to social media in the student council polls. There are many pages on prominent social media platforms that command a high following among the students of PU, but have resorted to hidden paid promotions. This activity misleads students and, gives birth to new malpractice that needs to be checked by the concerned authorities.
Sachin Galav, NSUI state president for Chandigarh, said some pages are biased towards one single party and use defamation techniques against a particular student leader. He said, "These pages do not have any ethical values. They are run by members of a particular student body, biased towards a single student body and they post private chats of student leaders which is incorrect and a violation of the privacy of others."
The fate of future student leaders will remain sealed within ballot boxes as the wait continues for final results.
Ritesh Pandit is a student at Panjab University.
