Chandigarh, Aug. 26 -- With the Panjab University Campus Students' Council (PUCSC) elections drawing near, the campus is abuzz with political activity as various student parties prepare to vie for a seat at the council. This year's election is set against a backdrop of shifting allegiances and a renewed focus on core student issues, with some parties seeking to reclaim their past glory while others aim to build on recent gains. The Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), previously known as Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), has a point to prove, having come in second in the presidential race two years in a row. Last year, Prince Chaudhary received 3,130 votes, falling behind the winner, Anurag Dalal, by just 303 votes. These two were the only serious candidates. In 2023, the party's candidate, Divyansh Thakur, also lost to Jatinder Singh. The party first contested the PUCSC polls in 2022 and was able to ride the wave created by the success of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, with Aayush Khatkar winning the post of president. ASAP has a new name, but it still has some baggage to get rid of if it wants to win. For the past two years, they have been talking eloquently about how they secured a grant of Rs.50 crore from the Punjab government to complete the construction of a girls' hostel and build a new boys' hostel in South Campus; however, the plan has not come to fruition. An ASAP senior noted that this is likely to hurt their chances. Since ASAP is the student wing of AAP, the ruling party in Punjab, various Punjab ministers are also taking an interest. Former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia also presides over some of the party meetings, while Malvinder Singh Kang, a former PUCSC president himself, is also actively meeting with students regarding thepoll campaign. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has had a long presence at PU, with current political leaders like Satyapal Jain and Saurabh Joshi contesting student polls in the 1980s. ABVP made some strides last year by securing the joint secretary seat for Jasvinder Rana. However, the fact remains that ABVP, which fought for all four seats last year, was only able to get 1,114 votes for their presidential face, Arpita Malik, while Rana secured 3,489 votes, which points to cross-voting. Rana had organised the student fest where a UIET student lost his life in March of this year. Rana had earlier been expelled from the party, which now has to deal with a new breakaway faction of leaders, removed from ABVP, called the ABVP front. Although both parties are in talks over a compromise to come under the umbrella of ABVP again, uncertainty looms over the party. The party has never won the president's post in the PUCSC, despite being the student group backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and with the RSS's political wing, the BJP, having been in power at the center for a third consecutive term. The Student Organisation of India (SOI) last had the president of the student council in 2019 when Chetan Chaudhary won against Paras Rattan of ABVP. While the student council elections were not held for the next two years, SOI has not made much of an impact in the PUCSC elections since they resumed in 2022. Last year, Tarun Sidhu quit CYSS, was recruited by SOI, and was immediately given a ticket. A senior SOI leader agreed that this move was a bit shortsighted and that students working for the party were unable to get behind the candidate, even though he secured 1,061 votes and stood fourth behind former president Anurag Dalal, CYSS, and ABVP. SOI suffers from uncertainty as its parent party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, is also going through a turbulent time. With a declining base of Punjabi voters, the party has fielded a woman candidate, Seerat from the University Institute of Technology, to try and turn their fortunes around. The party lacks the political muscle and financial aid that it used to get in previous years. It was famous for holding car rallies and other shows of political strength, but they no longer have a similar impact on students. The party relies solely on Punjabi sentiment, while the university is adding a considerable number of students from Haryana and Himachal as well....