Panjab University is now in election mode with student leaders toiling all over the campus in their cars, with flashy fluorescent stickers, with the party name printed on it, adorning their windshield.
The Panjab University Students Council elections to be held in September, have already triggered incidence of violence and a race for tapping the new comers are in place and all party are running from pillar to post to be the good Samaritan. All student unions want to have more and more freshers in their favor to perform well during the elections.
A draw was conducted on Friday evening to provide each party with a place to set-up a help desk for assisting the new comers and score brownie points for the upcoming elections. However the draw was cancelled on Monday and
status-quo of the last year was maintained to separate two warring groups from coming face to face.
It was found after the draw that decade old rivals, the Panjab University Student Union and Student Organisation of Punjab University were allotted space in close proximity giving way to tensions which might have embroiled into an ugly fight any moment as minor incidences of tension has already sprouted among the groups.
Earlier these groups have been warned of disciplinary action; as to stand adept in the rat race to get in more fresher in their favor, both the groups have been on sprawl to target each others’ prominent leaders to sought out their vengeance.
The decision was taken after a letter was written to Dean Student Welfare AS Ahluwalia by the SHO sec-11 Gurmukh Singh to sort out the problem. There was protest from the student union members on this decision but the changes were made for peaceful conduction of admissions.
After the allotment of space was finalised on Tuesday, tents have been erected at the respective places and help desk has been set-up. In one way it is convenient for the new students who are joining the university this fall but it also causes a lot of inconvenience as party workers of different
parties run behind fresher to promote their organisation as the best one.
AS Ahluwalia, Dean Student Welfare said that, “It is noble idea to set-up a help desk but with the idea of helping and that could be done without the party tag.” But these words fell on deaf ears as election frenzy mode has made all the party leaders to press their preparation throttle to the maximum to gain optimum benefit.
However to thwart any untowardly incident the police has set-up their own tent near the help desk area and constant vigil is being maintained by the personnel.