Coronavirus forces Panjab University to postpone senate elections

CHANDIGARH: Panjab University (PU) has postponed the senate elections scheduled to start in August, another fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
An official release on August 15 said following the advice of UT adviser Manoj Parida, vice-chancellor Prof Raj Kumar pushed the date of elections of all constituencies by two months or till the ministry of home affairs revises its guidelines, or permission is granted by the administration.
Professor Karamjeet Singh, registrar-cum-returning officer, PU, said only the date of polling was changed and the rest of the schedule remained the same. He said the new dates would be announced after receiving suitable directives.
On July 27, four senate members of the BJP-DAV group haddemandedto reschedule the elections owing to the pandemic. Their representation was submitted to the chancellor, M Venkaiah Naidu, vicepresident, stating coronavirus has affected Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Haryana, where polling booths have to be set up.
Dr Subhash Sharma, who leads the BJP-DAV group, said, “There are voters above 70 years of age and it is not possible to ask them to visit polling. The senate is valid till October 31, after which elections can be conducted.”
Three days back, nine syndicate members visited the VC, alarmed they had heard rumours about the postponement of elections. The step, they said, was not required as all arrangements according to the Covid-19 guidelines had been made, a reassurance the VC was satisfied with and gave his word that the elections would be held as per schedule.
Sources said the Navdeep Goyal-Ashok Goyal group held a meeting of core members on Sunday evening to chalk out a plan of action. Navdeep Goyal, who is leading the group, said he wrote to the VC demanding material for passing the order. He said action will be decided after the documents were provided.