BJP National General Secretary B L Santhosh congratulated Bidhan and the ABVP on Monday, highlighting support from the Students’ Organisation of India, or SOI, during the final 48 hours before polling. His remarks gave national-level attention to a campus contest already being watched for signs of political cooperation between the BJP and SAD ahead of Punjab’s 2027 Assembly election.
Bidhan secured 3,149 votes and defeated Aadil Brar of the AAP-backed Association of Students for Alternative Politics, who polled 2,637, by a margin of 512 votes. Gurnam Singh Sidhu of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India received 2,263 votes, while Sath candidate Darshpreet Singh secured 1,387.
The result enabled the ABVP to retain the PUCSC presidency for a second consecutive year. The organisation had won the post for the first time in the previous campus election, making Monday’s victory its first back-to-back success in the presidential race at Panjab University.
SOI announced support for Bidhan after its own candidate’s nomination was rejected, giving the ABVP an additional organisational partner shortly before voting. The Akali student organisation said its decision was based on student welfare, campus unity and development. Other student groups had also extended support to the ABVP candidate during the campaign.
Santhosh said Bidhan had won convincingly and specifically noted SOI’s backing. Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar also congratulated the candidate and said SOI had played an important part in the outcome. BJP Rajya Sabha member Tarun Chugh and Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon were among other party leaders who welcomed the result.
Bidhan, a research scholar from Jind in Haryana, said after the result that the ABVP’s work over the past year had helped it secure the mandate. He also acknowledged the support received from SOI. Bidhan has been associated with the ABVP since 2021 and previously studied law at Panjab University before joining the Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion as a research scholar.
The campus cooperation drew attention because the BJP and SAD had been long-standing political partners before the Akali Dal left the National Democratic Alliance in 2020 over the farm laws. Speculation over whether the two parties could revive their alliance has grown as Punjab approaches the Assembly election due next year, but their state leaderships have not announced any formal electoral understanding.
Punjab BJP in-charge Satish Poonia, who was in the state on Monday, reiterated that the party planned to contest all 117 Assembly seats on its own. He said meetings between leaders of different parties should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of an alliance, maintaining the BJP’s stated position while the university result generated political discussion.
The PUCSC election involved 16 candidates across four central posts. Around 16,500 students were eligible to vote, with about 190 polling booths established across the campus. Polling took place on Monday morning, and the results were declared later in the day.
Armaan Singh Bhinder won the vice-president’s post with 3,322 votes, defeating Aakanksha Thakur, who secured 2,818. Dhyan Singh was elected secretary with 4,045 votes against Aryan Saharan’s 3,678, while Vishal Bamal won the joint secretary’s post with 3,506 votes, ahead of Devraj Singh Nain on 2,338.
The outcome also marked a change from the previous year’s circumstances. ABVP’s Gauravveer Sohal had captured the presidency in 2025 without SOI support, whereas this year the Akali student wing publicly entered the contest on Bidhan’s side before polling. The collaboration therefore became part of the political reaction to the result, even though the election itself remained a university-level contest decided by students.
