Old ‘marriages’ head for ‘divorce’ by Archit Watts
Chandigarh, August 29If one goes by the adage “promises are made to be broken”, the same may seem true for the alliances in the Panjab University politics. Since most of the alliances are marriages of convenience rather than being based on sound ideologies, these tend to fritter.
As the final countdown to the polls begins, new permutations and combinations are being worked out and if initial trends are any indication, last year’s “marriages” will end up in divorces and “partners” may be swapped. The 2008 winning combine of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is heading for a split and the search for a new partner is on.
While the leaders of these parties are tight-lipped on these developments, insiders admit that all’s not well with the alliance. “The ABVP piggy rode us in the last elections and got two seats in the students council and later demanded too much,” said a leader.
However, the ABVP activists blame SOPU leaders for attempting to “bulldoze” them at every given opportunity. “Our suggestions are not accepted and they try to treat us like doormats,” he said.
On the ideological front, SOPU and ABVP, are quite different. While SOPU is usually backed by some Punjab Congress leaders and their kin, the ABVP is the BJP’s student body.
Things aren’t looking even bright for the last year’s runners-up, the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) and National Students Union of India (NSUI), too. Egos of the leaders are reportedly coming in way for another term together, as they accuse each other of not being in tune to the “alliance spirit”. If insiders of these major parties are to be believed, a partner-swapping, PUSU, may join hands with the ABVP and SOPU may ally with the NSUI.
In this season of breaking and making of such “marriages of convenience”, there are some parties like the Indian National Students organisation (INSO), backed by Chautala’s INLD, which are up willing to be the “bedfellows” of any party agreeing to give them three seats. INSO had failed to make any mark in the last polls.
Other student bodies like the Students Organisation of India (SOI), the Haryana Students Association, in its new avtar Hindustan Students Association (HAS), and the Himachal Pradesh Students union are still to wake up to the polls. They had unsuccessfully contested the polls last year, but are so far missing from the scene.

Published in Chandigarh Tribune on August 30, 2009