It’s party time as poll nears by Archit Watts
Chandigarh, August 29What can be the better way to woo college students during poll than food, music and dance. The recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee notwithstanding, the party season is on in Panjab University colleges as the days are numbered for the polls, which are scheduled for September 4.
Though such parties have been organised on the sly since the announcement of the polls, the College Students’ Union (CSU) of Khalsa College, Sector 26, today held one such get together at a Sector 7 discotheque under the garb of freshers’ party”. It was a free-for-all affair and students had a ball of a time.
However, the students realised that there were no free lunches in life as speeches of some former and present activists of the CSU, appealing for the usual pleas for “vote, support & elect” were a prelude to the entire affair. “I was expecting it to be plain and simple party but the speeches did come as a surprise,” said a fresher girl student.
There were others who were expecting this. “Who cares for the covert or the overt reasons? We get to dance and party”, said a second-year youngster. He even admitted that such party ploys weren’t beneficial for the political outfits. “We aren’t dumb” was his underlying message.
While, Rakesh, president, CSU, denied any political motives behind the gathering, but the truth was that usually such welcome parties were either organised by the seniors or the class and were contributory. But at the discotheque “the fresher party of Khalsa College by CSU” welcomed everyone.
As per the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, no student or candidate can spend more than Rs 5, 000 on elections and he has to submit their expenditure details after one week of the election. Student leaders can’t get money from any other political parties.

Published in Chandigarh Tribune on August 30, 2009