Chandigarh, Sept. 4 -- It was an eerie sense of deja vu for the National Students Union of India (NSUI), which once again found its rebel spoiling its chances. Its candidate Parabjot Singh Gill, an outsider who joined the party at the last minute, finished third in the presidential race, securing 1,359 votes. On the other hand, the NSUI rebel, Sumit Sharma, who floated the Student Front after being denied the president's ticket, secured 2,660 votes and finished second with the backing of Himachal Students Union (HIMSU) and rebels from other parties. Gill and Sharma's combined vote count surpassed that of the winner Gauravveer Sohal (3,148 votes), clearly indicating that the failure to plug factionalism and rebellion did the party in. As per party insiders, Sharma was the party's initial choice for the presidential race and his nomination papers had also been readied, but the party decided to go with Gill just 15 minutes before the official announcement was made. Last year too, Anurag Dalal, who was elected the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) president, had ditched NSUI and fought as an Independent after being denied the presidential ticket. Last year's NSUI face Rahul Nain had managed to secure just 501 votes. Congress leader Manoj Lubana, who had backed Dalal last year, sided with the rebel, Sharma, this time too. The parent party, Congress, has already marked inquiries against Lubana and sitting Congress councillor Sachin Galav, for anti-party activities. In what appears to be a damage control move, Galav shared a reel in Gill's support on Tuesday morning. Aam Aadmi Party's student wing on campus, which had reinvented itself as the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), changing its name from the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) in the hopes of ending its two-year losing streak, failed to make a mark this time too. This even as the AAP is in power in Punjab. The factionalism within the party was clear as after Mankirat Singh Mann's candidature was finalised, large parts of the ASAP cadre and senior leaders of the parent party did not participate whole-heartedly in the campaign. Mann polled 1,184 votes, much less than last year's candidate Prince Chaudhary who got 3,130 votes. ASAP state spokesperson Vatanveer Singh Gill said, "We have accepted the students' mandate. This poll was driven by the authorities to get the ABVP) candidate elected at any cost. We will remain active on campus to demand senate polls and raise our voice against the varsity's authoritarian policies." For the Students Organisation of India (SOI), which had last won the student election in 2019 under Chetan Chaudhary, it was a poor showing this time with its presidential candidate Seerat securing just 422 votes. With its parent party Shiromani Akali Dal already facing an internal turmoil, the campus loss has come as a double blow....