The Student Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), has extended its support to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections, in a move that has drawn attention ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly polls.

The alliance was announced a day before polling at Panjab University, with SOI backing ABVP’s presidential candidate Ankit Bidhan. SOI is not contesting the presidential election this year after its candidate’s nomination was rejected, prompting the student organisation to support the ABVP candidate instead. 

SOI backs ABVP candidate

The decision means SOI will mobilise its supporters in favour of ABVP candidates during the campus elections. The development has particular significance because the SAD and BJP, the parent parties of SOI and ABVP respectively, have been the subject of renewed speculation over a possible political understanding in Punjab.

The student alliance does not by itself confirm any decision regarding a formal SAD-BJP alliance for the state elections. However, it has brought renewed attention to the political equations between the two parties. 

Nomination issue led to alliance

SOI’s decision followed the rejection of its presidential candidate’s nomination, preventing the organisation from directly contesting the top post. ABVP, meanwhile, has fielded Ankit Bidhan for president.

The PUCSC election features a four-way contest for the presidential post, with candidates from ABVP, the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the AAP-backed Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) and Sath in the fray. Around 16,500 students are eligible to vote in the election.

Voting held amid tight security

Polling for the student council began on Monday, with security arrangements strengthened across the Panjab University campus. Authorities increased checks at the university’s entry gates amid concerns over the movement of outsiders.

The election covers the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary, besides departmental representatives. Ballot boxes for the office-bearer posts are being taken to the Gymnasium Hall for counting, while results for departmental representatives are displayed in their respective departments. 

SAD-BJP equation in focus

The campus-level cooperation comes at a time when speculation about a possible revival of the SAD-BJP political alliance has intensified in Punjab.

The two parties ended their long-standing alliance in 2020 after the Akali Dal withdrew from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance over the Centre’s farm laws. Recent statements by SAD leaders have again brought the possibility of renewed cooperation into public discussion. 

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia recently said that there was public support for the two parties to work together again, citing Punjab’s position as a border state and the importance of maintaining social harmony. His comments came shortly before the student wings announced their Panjab University understanding. 

Campus politics takes wider significance

Panjab University student elections have traditionally attracted attention beyond the campus because student organisations are often associated with larger political parties and ideological groups.

The SOI-ABVP understanding therefore carries significance beyond the immediate council contest. For now, however, the arrangement remains a student-level electoral alliance and should not be treated as confirmation of a formal SAD-BJP tie-up for the Punjab Assembly elections.

With polling underway, the focus will now shift to whether the support extended by SOI translates into an electoral advantage for the ABVP-led side and what the outcome indicates about the changing dynamics of student politics at Panjab University.