Chandigarh: ABVP beats all odds in historic win
The party had come close to clinching the post many times in the past. In 2022, ABVP’s Harish Gujjar had secured 2,052 votes, giving a close fight to winner Ayush Khatkar of the CYSS (2,712 votes)
For the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the race to the top wasn’t easy. With many of its prominent members going with the newly formed ABVP Front, the party wasn’t even at its full strength when it clinched the Panjab University’s Campus Students Council president’s post after nearly five decades of being active on campus.
The party had come close to clinching the post many times in the past. In 2022, ABVP’s Harish Gujjar had secured 2,052 votes, giving a close fight to winner Ayush Khatkar of the CYSS (2,712 votes). Many believe this is the closest the party has come to the president’s seat in recent years.
ABVP North Zone’s organising secretary Gaurav Attri, who handled the campaign this year, said, “After last year’s poor performance, we decided to focus on just the presidential seat this year. Last year, we won the joint secretary’s seat and got rid of this notion that ABVP can’t win seats in PU. This year, we fielded a strong Punjabi face. While other parties had also fielded Sikh candidates, we have got the most votes from Punjabi students.”
Attri set up camp in PU much before the election season had started to assess the pulse of the campus.
{{/usCountry}}Attri set up camp in PU much before the election season had started to assess the pulse of the campus.
{{/usCountry}}The party also worked out a shrewd alliance with NSUI rebels who had formed a new party Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and Indian National Students Organisation. This is the first time that the Congress and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh student wings have joined hands in such a fashion, but this ultimately paid off for ABVP presidential post candidate Gauravveer Sohal even as his alliance partners lost on all seats.
{{/usCountry}}The party also worked out a shrewd alliance with NSUI rebels who had formed a new party Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and Indian National Students Organisation. This is the first time that the Congress and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh student wings have joined hands in such a fashion, but this ultimately paid off for ABVP presidential post candidate Gauravveer Sohal even as his alliance partners lost on all seats.
{{/usCountry}}Former senator Satya Pal Jain, who contested the 1974-75 poll for general secretary’s post, which he claims he won with a record number of votes, said, “It is nice to see the students have decided to align PU with the national mainstream politics. PU will soar even higher this year,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Former senator Satya Pal Jain, who contested the 1974-75 poll for general secretary’s post, which he claims he won with a record number of votes, said, “It is nice to see the students have decided to align PU with the national mainstream politics. PU will soar even higher this year,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Davesh Moudgil, former mayor of the Chandigarh MC, who had won the joint secretary’s seat on an ABVP ticket in the 1998-99 session, said, “The election result definitely shows what the students are thinking. The youth is appreciative of the work done under the prime minister’s government and wants the same for the varsity.”
Other parties, meanwhile, alleged that the ABVP candidate won with the authorities’ help. They alleged that professors actively campaigned for Sohal, who is also related to former senator Lajwant Virk. There are also allegations of cross-voting, with leaders pointing out how candidates for NSUI and ASAP secured relatively few votes and a chunk of their votes also went to Sohal.
