PU student polls | Hassanpreet’s loss: ‘Trend has not changed, ideology has’
This is not the first time the SFS has fielded a female presidential candidate. They made history when they nominated Amandeep for the post in 2014.
Once again, Panjab University missed out on the chance to elect a woman president as the lone female candidate in the fray, Hassanpreet of the Students for Society (SFS), lost by 611 votes to Jashan Kamboj, the presidential candidate of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
Clocking in at the second position, Hassanpreet secured 2,190 votes to Jashan’s 2,801 votes. Last year, the NSUI fielded Siya Minocha who secured the fourth position.
Minocha said, “Last year, when I contested the election, we lost because we were not united. From then on, a lot has changed. Students have seen women speaking up for their rights in the varsity. It makes me proud that a woman candidate put up a tough fight. I wish that PU gets a woman president in the years to come.”
This is not the first time the SFS has fielded a female presidential candidate. They made history when they nominated Amandeep for the post in 2014.
Hassanpreet said, “The trend of having no woman president may have continued, but there was a change in voters’ ideologies this year. I am amazed that, being a woman, I managed to secure so many votes and gave a tough fight to the winner. The mindset is changing. The student council will soon see a woman president.”
The varsity has witnessed only three female presidential candidates in its long history. However, women have been elected to other posts on the student council.
Snigdha Bawa, a former vice-president on the student council, said, “There are many factors involved in not voting for a woman. But the day is not far when there will be a woman president. In the past four years, three women have come forward to contest the election. This time, the woman presidential candidate gave a tough fight to the NSUI candidate but couldn’t ultimately win.”
There are others who believe that ideology matters more than gender when students choose leaders. Simran Gill, chief patron of the NSUI who led the girl’s wing at PU, said, “There were chances of a woman president at PU, but unfortunately, she did not lose because she is a woman. She lost because of her ideological background and for going against the authorities. The trend will definitely change. Girls have moved on from being cheerleaders to being real leaders. They are now above glamour and vote bank.”