ABVP Retains Panjab University Students’ Council President Post By Defeating AAP and Congress Panels

Chandigarh, September 1 : The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), has retained the president’s post of the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) for the second consecutive year. ABVP scored victory by defeating panels, supported by Congress and AAP.

 

 

Aadil Bir Singh Brar, represented the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), which is the student wing of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Brar finished as the runner-up with 2,637 votes, losing by a margin of 512 votes.Gurman Singh Sidhu: Represented the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party. He finished third in the presidential race.Darshpreet Singh: Fielded by Sath, a regional independent student organization on campus

 

ABVP candidate Ankit Bidhan was elected president of the student council on Monday, a year after the organisation ended a nearly five-decade wait by winning the post for the first time since direct student elections began at Panjab University in 1977.

 

 

This year, ABVP received open support from the Student Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The development comes amid discussions over a possible BJP-SAD alliance for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, making the cooperation between their student organisations significant in the university’s politically active campus.

 

Bidhan, a PhD scholar at Panjab University’s Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion and a native of Jind, defeated his nearest rival Adil Brar of the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) by a margin of more than 500 votes. ASAP is associated with the Aam Aadmi Party.

 

 

 

Speaking after his victory, Bidhan said, “The results today show that Gen Z is with BJP and Modi ji.” Punjab BJP in-charge Satish Poonia and national general secretary B.L. Santhosh also congratulated him on the victory.

 

According to Panjab University Director of Public Relations Vineet Punia, 9,610 votes were polled out of 16,468 registered voters, recording a turnout of 58.35 per cent.

 

Last year, ABVP had created history by breaking a 48-year jinx when its candidate Gaurav Veer Singh Sohal won the presidency. This time, however, ABVP contested only the president’s post and did not field candidates for other council positions.

 

The remaining key posts were divided among different student groups. Armaan Bhinder of the Panjab University Democratic Front (PUDF), backed by ASAP, won the vice-president’s post. NSUI-supported independent candidate Dhyan Singh was elected general secretary, while ASAP-backed independent candidate Vishal Bamal won the joint secretary’s post.

 

Opposition student organisations accused the administration of selective enforcement of rules and alleged bias in favour of ABVP. Questions were also raised over the shortened election schedule, nomination rules and campaign permissions.