Chandigarh: Ideology takes back seat as unlikely ties emerge
ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while NSUI is the student wing of the Congress, who are polar opposites when it comes to ideology. With candidates Navdeep Singh and Sagar Khatri unable to get tickets from NSUI, they have formed a new party, Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), associated with Bhagat Singh during India’s Freedom Struggle
At least three new alliances were announced on Friday in the run-up to the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) elections, where ideology is not the unifying factor for alliances anymore, as even unlikely alliances like that between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and rebels of National Students Union of India (NSUI), have come to the fore during this year’s polls.
ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while NSUI is the student wing of the Congress, who are polar opposites when it comes to ideology. With candidates Navdeep Singh and Sagar Khatri unable to get tickets from NSUI, they have formed a new party, Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), associated with Bhagat Singh during India’s Freedom Struggle.
They also hastily created a social media page which was previously one of NSUI’s pages. It was also seen that the earlier posts supporting NSUI have not been deleted yet.
They have aligned with Gaurav Veer Sohal of ABVP for the seat of president while Vishesh Anand Dhaka of Indian National Students Organisation of India (INSO) will also be in alliance for the general secretary seat. INSO is the student wing of Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party, further confusing the ideology behind this alliance.
Speaking about this, Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky said, “While this is a NSUI matter, being the Congress president of the city we will punish anyone indulging in these anti-party activities. Congress and BJP are ideologically poles apart, and we need to counsel the students to look at politics beyond what goes on inside the university.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking about this, Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky said, “While this is a NSUI matter, being the Congress president of the city we will punish anyone indulging in these anti-party activities. Congress and BJP are ideologically poles apart, and we need to counsel the students to look at politics beyond what goes on inside the university.”
{{/usCountry}}Lucky, who himself has remained the president of NSUI Chandigarh earlier, said that politics in the university have become the politics of opportunism and ideology has taken a back seat.
{{/usCountry}}Lucky, who himself has remained the president of NSUI Chandigarh earlier, said that politics in the university have become the politics of opportunism and ideology has taken a back seat.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, former president of BJP Chandigarh, Sanjay Tandon said, “BJP and ABVP are not directly connected but we have the same mentor. The recent alliances show that there are no permanent partners in politics.” He added that in the end what matters is who wins.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, former president of BJP Chandigarh, Sanjay Tandon said, “BJP and ABVP are not directly connected but we have the same mentor. The recent alliances show that there are no permanent partners in politics.” He added that in the end what matters is who wins.
{{/usCountry}}In Chandigarh, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress are in alliance in the Chandigarh municipal corporation. AAP had also campaigned for member of Parliament Manish Tewari during the Lok Sabha elections. However, in PU there is no love lost between their student wings ASAP and NSUI, with both parties ruling out any alliance in the near future.
Another unlikely alliance has happened between Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), where they have come together to back Sumit Sharma of Students Front (SF) for the post of president. While SOPU and PUSU are not the main parties, it is the first time that such an alliance has taken place between the two parties.
Speaking about this, president of SOPU, Balraj Singh Sidhu said, “Present day student politics is far away from ideology. The other SOPU party using our name doesn’t represent us and we will never align with any party which isn’t a student party.” While the other faction of SOPU is fighting for the general secretary seat, Sidhu said they are in talks to form an alliance with another candidate for the general secretary seat, which would result in both factions of SOPU facing off with each other.
ASAP gets Haryana, Himachal Pradesh faces for alliance
Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) has announced their alliance with University Student Organisation (USO) and Himachal Pradesh Students Union (HPSU). While ASAP is contesting for the president and general secretary seats with Mankirat Singh Mann and Komalpreet respectively, they will back Jatin Kamboj of UIET for vice-president and Aryan Verma of Department of Laws for joint secretary post.
NSUI have also announced their alliance
While, NSUI is officially only contesting on the president seat with Parabhjot Singh Gill, they have announced an alliance with Mohit Manderna for the post of joint secretary. Mohit is an independent candidate but is backed by former NSUI Chandigarh president Sikander Boora. After last year’s eventful resignation during a press conference, this alliance is a way for Boora to work again with the NSUI.
