Chandigarh: Panjab University goes to polls on Monday with a smaller presidential field, an administration led by an acting vice-chancellor and a question: How many students will actually turn up to vote.The PUCSC election, one of the region’s most closely watched student contests, comes at an unusual moment. Prof Renu Vig’s tenure as vice-chancellor ended on July 28, following which Dean of University Instruction Prof Meenakshi Goyal was asked to discharge the responsibilities as VC from July 29 until further arrangements.The contest itself is thinner than recent editions. Just four candidates are in the presidential race, compared with eight last year and nine each in 2023 and 2024. The smaller field also produced a campaign that, despite its share of complaints and displays of strength, remained relatively less confrontational than the clashes that have often marked the closing stages of PU elections.Monday could, however, test voter enthusiasm. Raksha Bandhan on Friday followed by the weekend gave many students an opportunity to return home, and student leaders had earlier expressed concern that an Aug 31 poll date could affect turnout as students might not return to Chandigarh in time.The campus will meanwhile be under tight security. Police and university security personnel have stepped up checking at the entry gates amid concerns over movement of outsiders, with vehicles being checked as part of the arrangements. The university had earlier said additional police personnel would be deployed and internal checks strengthened for the polls.While security checks and restrictions were in place, outsiders from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi were visible on campus during the campaign.For Monday, the university has effectively put routine campus life on pause. Departments will remain suspended, while the Student Centre shops and A.C. Joshi Library will remain closed. Gate No. 1 will remain shut from noon to 4:30pm, with gates 2 and 3 operating normally. Students and staff have been asked to carry identity cards.After a week of alliances, protests, promises and campaigning, the smaller ballot now faces its biggest variable: the turnout. By Monday afternoon, PU will know whether the students who left for the long weekend returned to choose who represents them.BOX: PU on election mode todayPolling: Voting begins at 9.30 am in the concerned departments.Counting: Ballot boxes will start reaching the Gymnasium Hall from 11 am, with counting and declaration of the office-bearer results scheduled from noon onwards.Campus restrictions: Gate No. 1 will remain closed from noon to 4:30pm. Departments, the Student Centre shops and A.C. Joshi Library will remain closedSecurity: Police and university security personnel have been deployed, with checking intensified on campusSmaller race: Just four candidates are contesting for the president’s post – the lowest number since 2019.
