Signing you in

RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) retained the PUCSC president’s post for a second consecutive year, with its candidate Ankit Bidhan defeating Aam Aadmi Party student outfit ASAP’s Adil Brar by 506 votes. The victory assumed added significance as the Students’ Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had extended support to the ABVP candidate just a day before polling.

Bidhan polled 3,143 votes against Brar’s 2,637, while Congress student organisation NSUI’s Gurman Sidhu finished third with 2,263 votes.

The ABVP-SOI victory revived discussion about whether the former allies BJP and SAD could eventually find common ground ahead of the 2027 electoral outing. The SAD had parted ways with the BJP in 2020 after remaining alliance partners for nearly two decades. Panjab University elections are closely watched in Punjab, particularly ahead of Assembly polls, and are often viewed as an indicator of political sentiment among young voters. The latest verdict has therefore provided the BJP with an opportunity to project the result as evidence of growing acceptance among the state’s youth.

Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu described ABVP’s second consecutive presidential victory as an “important political message”, saying it reflected growing trust in the BJP among young people.

“ABVP being elected to the post of President for the second consecutive time at Panjab University is, in itself, an important political message,” Sandhu said. He linked the result to the BJP’s broader narrative of development, employment and opportunities for young people under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon, former state BJP president Sunil Jakhar and other party leaders congratulated Bidhan.

Jakhar specifically acknowledged SOI’s role in the victory. “The winds of change have begun to blow from Panjab University. For the second consecutive time, the ABVP has created history by securing victory in the student elections. SOI played an important role in this victory,” he said, adding that the result reflected “the new thinking of the new generation”. He also congratulated Bidhan and the ABVP team.

Dhillon, in a post on X, said the second consecutive victory on the president’s post showed that “Gen Z had once again made its choice loud and clear”.

For the AAP, however, the result presents an uncomfortable political signal. The party had put considerable organisational effort into the PU elections and appointed its youngest MP, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, as election in-charge for the ASAP campaign. Hayer was not available for comment.

The defeat is particularly noteworthy because AAP came to power in Punjab in 2022 riding on an anti-establishment and youth-oriented campaign. The PU verdict could prompt the party to assess whether the enthusiasm among young voters that contributed to its landslide victory four years ago is showing signs of a shift.

For the SAD, the outcome offers visibility at a university that attracts students from across Punjab. Its student wing’s last-minute tie-up with ABVP, followed by a decisive victory, has inevitably added to the political conversation around the two parties’ future relationship.

The Congress, meanwhile, had little to cheer about, with NSUI finishing third. The result adds to the challenges confronting the party’s student and state-level organisation.