Election fever yet to grip colleges, admission process delays preparations

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

While Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, is abuzz with activities related to student elections, the poll fever is yet to grip city colleges. Most student parties are yet to start campaigning and decide their panels. As of now, they are interacting with freshers. 

Even the university authorities informed that they had not been able to hold  a proper meeting with students as they failed to give names of their leaders. The Dean (Student Welfare) of DAV College, Gurjeet Gill, said, “At one of the meetings, two students from the same party started quarreling about who their leader was”.

Most parties are yet to decide the panel due to which lobbying at the student level is on. The delaye in  admissions  coupled with the online process hurt the parties and their campaign plans. Student parties had to wait longer to see full strength of freshers as admissions for courses like BA is still on at some colleges. Most parties are yet to decide their issues to be taken up in their manifestos. 

 Nikka Sidhu of the Student Organisation of India (SOI) at the SGGS- 26 says, “We will start planning for the elections next week as the number of students on the campus will be high then.”  Rajendar Kahtkar of the Indian National Students’ Organisation (INSO) at the DAV-10 says, “We are deciding on our panel currently. Campaigning will begin after that”. Harsh of the Sanatan Dharam College Union at the GGDSD- 32 said they had started one-on-one interaction with freshers and start their formal campaigning from next week.

Defacement, violence major challenges  

City colleges will have their task cut out as they will have to work towards ensuring a peaceful election. Last year, the colleges witnessed multiple election-related violent incidents even though most of them took place outside their campuses. 

Another challenge is defacement. While colleges like DAV and GGDSD have not allowed party stickers or pamphlets on their campuses, posters of student parties at the college have defaced several tricity areas.

The implementation of the Lyngdoh committee norms is yet to be seen at city colleges. The colleges have taken the first step towards it by putting up notices asking for election expenditure from parties. However, even colleges are not expecting parties to submit the details as it has not been done in the previous years as well.

However, colleges say that they do take steps to keep a check on such practices and keep them under control. Ajay Sharma, DSW, GGDSD-32, said, “We have put up a prohibition notice but they are our students after all. We will try and keep a check on poll spendings.”   

Parties yet to decide issues 

Most parties are yet to decide the panel due to which lobbying at the student level is on. The delay in admissions coupled with the online process have hurt the parties and their campaign plans. Student parties had to wait longer to see full strength of freshers as admissions for courses like BA is still on at some colleges. Most student parties are yet to decide their issues to be taken up in their manifestos. As of now, they are interacting with new students to muster support.