PU student body elections: In close fight, Sikander Boora stood like rock behind Anurag Dalal
Sikandar Boora, the former Chandigarh president of NSUI, who had resigned from the party and thrown his weight behind Dalal, becoming a key figure in his rise
As dusk settled over Panjab University, a palpable sense of excitement swept across the campus. Though officials were yet announce the results, the signs of Independent candidate Anurag Dalal’s imminent victory were unmistakable. His supporters, unable to contain their joy, began celebrating even before the final count. The air was alive with chants, and the sound of drums echoed outside the gymnasium hall.
At the centre of it all stood Sikander Boora, the former Chandigarh president of NSUI, who had resigned from the party and thrown his weight behind Dalal, becoming a key figure in his rise. The victory was personal for Boora, a redemption of sorts. He had helped craft the Democratic Student Front, a new collective that brought together old leaders and fresh faces, united by a common cause – to break free from traditional party politics.
“Today, we’ve shown that we are not pawns in anyone’s game. This is about us, our choices, our future,” said Dalal, in his victory speech at the Student Centre.
Second win in row for Boora group
This was the second consecutive victory for a presidential candidate of the Boora group. Boora was also one of the key figures behind the victory of Jatinder Singh in the PUCSC polls last year.
Known to be a shrewd tactician who works closely with former NSUI leader Manoj Lubana, he had shocked many by announcing his resignation from the post of Chandigarh NSUI president, an appointment made right before the elections. A party insider revealed that Boora had been given the post so that a candidate from another group could be finalised as the president.
Speaking about how they decided to contest the elections again as independent candidates, Boora said, “Right after my resignation, I went to PU where many students offered their sympathy and told me that they would stand by me if we fought the elections.
Terming the orders from Delhi a ‘Tughalqi Farmaan’ he said, “There were other strong candidates. Vice-president Archit was also a strong pick for president, but the candidate that the Delhi leaders went with hadn’t done any groundwork for the party.”
Alliance with SOPU paid off
After toying with the idea of forming an alliance with a party with a bigger cadre, Boora’s group decided to go with the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) as it is a student-backed party. Interestingly, senior SOPU officials were not happy with the alliance at first as they felt Dalal had swooped in to reap benefits of the wave they created while their own candidate was given only the secretary’s post. The candidate, however, lost.
Dalal’s strong support base in science depts
While Prince Chaudhary of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) had the lead in three of the biggest departments in PU – UIET, UILS and department of laws, Dalal maintained his lead over Prince in the smaller departments.
In Dalal’s own chemistry department, he secured 234 votes against 59 for Prince. In Physics, Dalal got 145 votes against 60 for Prince. Dalal also did well in languages with 79 votes against 21 for Prince in English and 28 votes against 6 for Prince in Hindi. Those studying political science followed the overall trend of the election with 69 votes for Dalal against just 11 for Prince.
While Prince got a lead in UIET, Dalal got 176 votes against 126 for Prince in chemical engineering. Dalal also focused on cutting his losses. While they had expected to lose in University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) where Prince is currently studying, Dalal still got 426 votes against 556 votes for Prince. Even in the Department of Laws, Dalal got 158 votes against 165 for Prince.
UIET where, last year, Divyansh Thakur of CYSS had got more votes than Jatinder Singh of NSUI also saw Dalal put up a good fight here when he secured 301 votes against Prince’s 464 votes.