As the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) 2024 elections draw near, the stakes are high with 15,854 eligible voters across 62 departments set to cast their ballots, with nearly 40 per cent of these hailing from just two backgrounds—engineering and legal studies.

With four days left until the Sept 5 elections, the official candidate list shows nine contenders for the presidency.However, according to the Dean of Student Welfare (DSW) officials, Mandeep Singh, one of these candidates, missed the deadline to withdraw his nomination. His name remains on the list, but he is not participating actively, reducing the active race to eight presidential hopefuls. Additionally, the contest includes four candidates for secretary, five for vice-president, and six for joint secretary. Regarding Department Representatives (DRs), 127 positions are up for grabs, with 62 already elected unopposed. The remaining 65 positions will be decided through elections, with 121 candidates vying for these seats.

The University Institute of Engineering & Technology (UIET) has the highest number of eligible voters, with 2,518 students. It is followed by the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) with 1,950 voters, and the Department of Laws with 1,110 voters. These three departments are the only ones with over 1,000 eligible voters, and together they account for approximately 35.3 per cent of the total voter base. The engineering cohort, which includes UIET and Chemical Engineering (624 voters), makes up 19.8 per cent of the total vote share. The combined legal studies departments, including UILS and Laws, represent 19.2 per cent of the voter base. With these two groups holding nearly 40 per cent of the vote share, candidates who can win their support will likely have a strong advantage in the PUCSC elections.

South Campus is quieter this year

Despite a nearly balanced vote share between engineering and legal studies students, this year’s on-ground campaign activities are noticeably uneven across all these four departments—two with aspiring lawyers and two with future engineers.

Last year’s elections saw UIET buzzing with election fervour and aggressive campaigning, potention due to more engineering candidates. However, the south campus has been much quieter this year, with only one presidential candidate from UIET. For this candidate, department loyalty could be a significant factor in determining success. While two presidential candidates hail from the law departments and two from UILS, this might lead to a potential split in the legal vote. On the other hand, the RSIC/USIC/CIL Student category has the smallest voter base, with only six eligible voters.