Panjab University student elections: Polling to elect new students council begins amid tight security, 16 candidates in fray

PTC News Desk: The voting to elect new students' council began on Panjab University campus at 9:30 am on Monday with amid tight security. The campus witnessed heavy police deployment during polling. 

This year, the president’s post is seeing a four-way contest. Elections are also being held for the posts of vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and Department Representatives (DRs).

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A total of 16 candidates are contesting the elections, including four for president. The main contest is between Gurman Singh Sidhu of Congress’ student wing NSUI, Aadil Brar of the AAP-backed Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), Ankit Bidhan of BJP-backed ABVP, and Darshpreet Singh of Sath.

Five candidates are contesting for vice-president, while three are in the race for secretary and four for joint secretary.

Heavy security on campus

The campus has been turned into a high-security zone, with more than 500 police personnel deployed at different locations.

Although a lower voter turnout was expected because of the long weekend, heavy traffic at all entry gates suggested that a large number of students were coming to vote.

Students were allowed to enter their respective departments until 9:30 am. Those delayed because of heavy traffic were given an additional 10 minutes to reach their departments.

At the time of filing the report, students were still being allowed to enter major departments, including the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), Law Department and University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET).

Voting will continue until 11:30 am, after which vote counting will begin at 12 noon. The final results are expected to be announced by the evening.

Counting will take place at the Gymnasium Hall under tight security.