The North News
Chandigarh, September 3
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has won the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) presidency for the first time in the institution’s history.
Gaurav Veer Sohal, a research scholar at the University Institute of Legal Studies, secured 3,148 votes, defeating Sumit Sharma by a margin of 488. Eight candidates contested the post.
The victory marks ABVP’s first win since Panjab University began holding direct elections for student office-bearers in 1977. Student politics at the university has traditionally been dominated by local outfits, with national-level organisations playing a limited role until recent years.
Speaking after his win, Sohal expressed solidarity with flood-affected families in Punjab, saying: “My heart goes out to the people who are suffering due to the flood in Punjab.”
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar hailed the outcome on X, writing: “ABVP has scripted history by winning the election for the presidentship of Panjab University Students’ Council for the first time in 48 years. Heartiest congratulations to Gaurav Veer Sohal… kudos to the entire ABVP team for this great victory.”
Other student groups, including the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Aam Aadmi Party’s Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), and the Shiromani Akali Dal’s Students Organisation of India (SOI), performed poorly.
In 2023, the presidency was won by an NSUI rebel candidate, while AAP’s student wing won in 2022.
Panjab University, established in Lahore in 1882 and reestablished in Chandigarh in 1947, has a long academic legacy. Alumni include former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Nobel laureate Hargobind Khorana. Today, the university operates across a 550-acre campus with more than 60 departments and over 170 affiliated colleges.
With IANS inputs
