The PPSO explained its position, stating that it will only extend its full support to the SOI presidential candidate, adding that the two parties will be working with a common agenda of student welfare. (Express photo by Karma Sonam Bhutia) The PPSO explained its position, stating that it will only extend its full support to the SOI presidential candidate, adding that the two parties will be working with a common agenda of student welfare. (Express photo by Karma Sonam Bhutia) After becoming the first student party to announce their presidential candidate in June, the Students Organisation of India (SOI) once again became the first to announce an alliance on Thursday with a little over two weeks left for the student council elections. The Pal Pehelwan Students’ Organisation (PPSO), active on the campus since 2015, has decided to give their full support to the SOI’s presidential candidate Iqbalpreet Singh Takhar, also known as Prince. Navjot Kaur, the vice-president, PPSO, said, “We will be supporting Iqbalpreet as our mutual presidential candidate. We are not announcing our own candidates for any other post and have joined hands with the SOI.” This development comes four to five days after Captain Amrinder Singh Buttar, the party chief of PPSO, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) at the invitation of senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia. The PPSO explained its position, stating that it will only extend its full support to the SOI presidential candidate, adding that the two parties will be working with a common agenda of student welfare. Vicky Middukhera, president, SOI, said, “The PPSO’s support will be a boost as the party has managed to perform well in past elections with 2,500 votes last year when they had formed an alliance with the PUSU.” The PPSO has been active in Punjab as a non-political student welfare organisation since 2006, but they fought their first election in the university in 2015. The party has stated that they have joined hands with the SOI to create “real impact”. “Our organisation purely stands for student welfare. However, it becomes difficult for non-political student parties to win a seat on the student council. There’s a lot of pressure on students since political parties became active on the campus here and campus parties do not get a chance to showcase their talent,” said Captain Amarinder Singh Buttar, party chief, PPSO. Buttar added that the PPSO stood for student welfare and equality and inclusion within the student community. While this was not a typical alliance, the party’s six-year bond with Takhar was a major reason for them to support him. Lately, student politics on the campus has taken a turn with new groups and student leaders breaking away from traditional and politically-affiliated student parties such as National Students Union of India (NSUI), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) and SOI. “Leaders who are leaving political parties are doing so to fight their own fight for power. It’s not uncommon for students leaders to indulge in party hopping before elections. In 2016, even the NSUI broke into two groups but they merged again in 2017,” said Buttar. On any kind of pressure from the SAD on his joining them, he added that the PPSO had not merged with the SOI but had only formed an alliance. “I have just joined the SAD four days back. I have not faced any pressure or anything and they haven’t asked us to merge; this will not make a difference to our party’s ideology and functioning,” he said. The presidential candidate of the SOI was booked in a thrashing case in March 2017. However, charges are yet to be framed in the case. “There’s nothing proven against Iqbalpreet and there’s no charge sheet against him yet. It’s only a conspiracy to defame a potentially brilliant student leader,” added Buttar. In 2015, the SOI won the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) election for the first time with Jasmeen Kang, a research scholar from the department of physics, elected as the president. That year, they had formed an alliance with Himachal Students Union (HIMSU), Indian National Students Organisation (INSO), Gandhi Group Students Union (GGSU), Youth Organisation of India (YOI), National Students Organisation (NSO) and Youth Welfare Association (YUWA). Start your day the best way with the Express Morning Briefing For all the latest Chandigarh News, download Indian Express App

Stay updated with all the Chandigarh Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.