Nomination Window Opens, Alliances Uncertain
Panjab University is set to begin filing nominations for the Panjab University Campus Students' Council (PUCSC) elections from Monday, with the political temperature rising as the deadline nears. The upcoming Punjab assembly elections and municipal corporation council polls later this year have added weight to the student elections, as reported by Hindustan Times.
With hours left for the filing of nominations, regional groups representing students from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have yet to reveal their plans, The Tribune reported. No party has announced a full panel so far, hinting that some major alliances may be unveiled in the coming days.
Four major groups — the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Students Front, Sath, and the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) — have announced candidates, but only for the presidential post, according to The Tribune. This leaves considerable room for alliance partners to contest other positions.
The provisional list of contesting candidates is set to be released on August 24, with the final list on August 25, as per The Tribune.
Voting is scheduled for August 31, which falls on a long weekend after Raksha Bandhan. Campaigning in hostels began on Sunday, encouraging students to cast their ballots.
A Shifting Landscape
The Tribune notes that the days of parties contesting with full panels have faded, resulting in a mixed house in recent years. Last year, eight parties fielded candidates, most under alliances. ABVP won the presidency, Sath took the vice-presidency, SOPU clinched the secretary post, and an NSUI rebel won joint secretary.
Hindustan Times poses the question of whether ABVP will repeat its victory. ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has a long presence at Panjab University, with current political leaders like Satyapal Jain having contested student polls in the 1980s. However, it was only in 2025 that the party won, under Gauravveer Sohal.
Gaurav Attri, ABVP North Zone's organising secretary, is credited with engineering that win, and he has remained a familiar face on campus. Yet this year may be tougher, as other parties are reportedly uniting against ABVP, and a recent student protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi has led some students to reconsider their support, according to Hindustan Times.
NSUI, the Congress student wing, has a point to prove after failing to win the presidency for two consecutive years, the report adds. This year, NSUI has reconciled with its breakaway faction, Student Front, which formed in 2024 and won with Anurag Dalal. Last year, Student Front's Sumit Sharma finished second in the presidential race, ahead of NSUI's Prabjot Singh Gill, who was third.
Party Profiles and Factions
ASAP, formerly CYSS, first contested in 2022 and won with Aayush Khatkar as president. It came second in 2023 and 2024 but slipped to fourth last year under Mankirat Singh Mann, Hindustan Times reported. AAP MP Meet Hayer has been assigned as election incharge for ASAP's campaign.
SOI, which won the presidency in 2019, when Chetan Chaudhary defeated Paras Rattan of ABVP, has been fragmented. A breakaway Panjab University Democratic Front was formed from disgruntled SOI members, according to Hindustan Times. Last year, SOI's Seerat secured 422 votes in the presidential race.
Sath, which has won the vice-presidency twice in the last three years, is fighting for the presidency for the first time since 2022. Its candidate this year is Darshpreet Singh, and its campaign posters feature the image of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, as per Hindustan Times.
INSO, the student wing of the Jannayak Janta Party, held the general secretary post for three consecutive years but lost it last year, the report states. SOPU won that seat last year under Abhishek Dagar, but the party has reportedly lost direction after shots were fired against its leader Jashan Jawandha inside the campus.
PUSU, which has internal factions, last won the presidency in 2016 with Nishant Kaushal. SOPU's last presidential victory came in 2012 under Satinder Singh Satti. Other groups in the mix include Kanupriya's 2018-2019 presidential win, Students For Society, which has not contested since 2024, and PSU Lalkaar's Jobanpreet Singh, who secured 198 votes last year — just 10 more than NOTA. AISA, meanwhile, is set to contest this year after its last candidate failed eligibility conditions.
Grievances Cell Grants Age Relaxation
In a procedural development, The Tribune reported that the grievances redress cell constituted by the Vice-Chancellor has approved a one-year age relaxation, allowing candidates up to 23 years of age to contest.
Perspectives
As the election approaches, the major parties are keeping their strategies close. A representative of a university-based political group, quoted by The Tribune, said possible alliances await the provisional list before announcements. Regional groups like SOI, Students for Society, HIMSU and INSO have yet to announce their plans, leaving the field open.
The absence of SOPU and PUSU this year, as noted by The Tribune, has intensified the contest, adding to the uncertainty around alliances and candidate line-ups.