01092026-CT-01.qxd 9/1/2026 1:06 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune SCAM ACCUSED WITHDRAWS PLEA TO JOIN CBI PROBE BADSHAH DEBUTS IN MARATHI HIP HOP WITH CHIMNA ACTOR MANASI REUNITES WITH FAMILY AFTER NEPAL ORDEAL Nalini Malik, former Chandigarh Smart City Company Ltd CEO, was arrested in ~116-crore scam. P3 Badshah is taking his music deeper into regional soundscape with his first Marathi hip-hop track. P4 The actor returns to Mumbai after being stranded amidst Nepal flashfloods. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 44 PANCHKULA 48 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, & Dhanas Mohali: Sec 68, 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 8 am to 11 am: Parts of Sector 10-D 10 am to 2 pm: Sectors 7, 15, Shastri Nagar, Ram Darbar 12 noon to 3 pm: NIIITR, SCO No: 40 to 62, Strawberry Fields High School, St Kabir School, Mahatma Gandhi Institute 2 pm to 4 pm: Sector 7 Boy, girl shot at during party Tribune News Service Mohali, August 31 Unidentified assailants opened fire at a group of youths celebrating a birthday party in a Mohali village on Sunday evening, leaving a boy and a girl seriously injured. After firing, the assailants fled the spot on two motorcycles. A local youth, Salman, and a girl, Suman, sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Phase VI, here. Suman suffered a bullet injury in the abdomen and was stated to be in a serious condition, while Salman was hit in the arm. Both were later shifted to the PGI in Chandigarh. The police reached the spot and started an investigation. Investigating officer Bhagat Ram of the Phase I police station said CCTV footage from the nearby areas was being scanned to identify the assailants. The incident is suspected to be linked to a financial dispute. A case under the Arms Act has been registered. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 31 During the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Chandigarh District Election Officer (DEO) has suspended a Booth Level Officer (BLO) with immediate effect for alleged gross negligence, insubordination and dereliction of duty. The suspended official, Amrit Pal Kaur (Punjab cadre), is a Trained Graduate Teacher (Hindi) posted at Government Model High School, Sector 32. She was appointed as a BLO under the Representation of the Continued on page 3 MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.00 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE ABVP retains PUpresident’s post Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 31 The BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) retained the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) president’s post for a second consecutive year on Monday, overcoming a strong anti-incumbency campaign by rival groups and emerging as the largest political force on the campus. The ABVP’s presidential candidate and university research scholar, Ankit Bidhan, defeated his nearest rival, Aadil Singh Brar of the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), a student wing of AAP by 512 , votes. Bidhan polled 3,149 votes against Brar’s 2,637. Gurman Singh Sidhu, the presidential candidate of the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), finished third with 2,263 votes, while universitybased Sath party candidate Darshpreet Singh secured 1,387 votes. As many as 174 voters opted for NOTA. Of the 16,500 registered students, 9,610 cast their vote, recording a turnout of 58.35 per cent — almost the same as last year’s 58.6 per cent. The ABVP entered this year’s election amid sharp criticism of the BJP and the RSS, the parent organisation of the student outfit. The party, however, mounted a coordinated campaign, with senior leaders, former student council presidents and organisational functionaries maintaining a visible presence on the campus. “We fought this election for the students and for the work done for their welfare in the last session. I am grateful to every voter,” Bidhan said after his victory. A different strategy pays off In a quadrangular presidential contest, Bidhan was the only candidate from Haryana. The other three major contenders were from Punjab. The ABVP also changed its strategy from last year by fielding a candidate from Jind district. Last year, the ABVP had won its first-ever PUCSC presidential election with Gaurav Veer Sohal, a Jat Sikh. Sohal had polled 3,148 votes — just one vote fewer than Bidhan secured this year. The result came as a setback to rival Bidhan defeats ASAP’s Brar by 512 votes; Independents spring a surprise in student council polls; turnout 58.35% — almost the same as last year PUCSC ELECTION RESULTS PRESIDENT Ankit Bidhan (ABVP) 3,149 Aadil Brar (ASAP): 2,637 Gurman Singh Sidhu (NSUI): 2,263 Darshpreet Singh (Sath): 1,387 NOTA: 174 VICE-PRESIDENT Armaan Singh Bhinder (PUDF) 3,322 Aakanksha Thakur (NSUI): 2,818 Vipul Bhadu (ISO): 1,284 Manmeet Kaur (Sakhi): 1,053 Armaan Singh (AISA): 652 NOTA: 465 ABVP presidential candidate Ankit Bidhan breaks a broom after his victory in the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council elections on Monday. PARDEEP TEWARI WILL CONTINUE TO WORK FOR STUDENTS’ WELFARE: BIDHAN ❝ This win is a testament to the power of students and the work done by the ABVP for the welfare of university students. The ABVP will continue to work for their welfare. We will deliver on what we have committed and remain an integral part of the students’ voice. — Ankit Bidhan, PRESIDENT OF THE PUCSC groups, which had hoped to capitalise on the anti-incumbency factor against the BJPled Central government in the wake of Gen Z protests. The close contest between the ASAP and the NSUI also helped the ABVP Both groups . remained locked in a keen battle across major departments, while the ABVP surged ahead in the later phases of counting. The increase in the NSUI’s vote share pushed ASAP to the second position. SOI alliance gives ABVP the edge The rejection of the presidential nomination of the Student Organisation of India (SOI) candidate also worked in the ABVP’s favour. The university authorities had rejected the nomination of continued on page 2 Win signals shifting Akali-BJP arithmetic THE TRIBUNE ANALYSIS Nitin Jain T HE Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has retained the president’s post of the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) for a second consecutive term, with its candidate Ankit Bidhan winning by a margin of more than 500 votes on Monday. This is the first time in the university’s history that the RSS-linked outfit has won the top post twice in a row. But the more significant story is not the margin. It is the arithmetic behind it. Unlike last year, when the Congress’ NSUI, the AAP’s ASAP and the Shiromani Akali Dal’s Student Organisation of India (SOI) all contested separately and were routed, this year the SOI did not fight Bidhan. It backed him. After the SOI’s own presidential nominee was rejected on technical grounds, the outfit announced on Sunday, a day before polling, that it was extending unconditional support to Bidhan. The two sides framed it as a campuslevel understanding built around student welfare, with an SOI statement describing it as an example of Sikh-Hindu unity rising above political differences. The optics carry weight well beyond the PU campus. The SAD and the BJP were long-standing allies before the tie-up collapsed in 2020 over the Centre’s sincerepealed farm laws, a rupture that cost the Akalis politically and left them searching for a way back into the BJP’s good books in Punjab. A campuslevel alliance between their student wings, however modest in scale, is being read as an early signal of thaw between the two camps, six years after the split and roughly six months before the 2027 Assembly polls. For the ABVP and, by extension, the BJP’s Punjab unit, the message is doubly useful. A second straight presidential win at one of the country’s Smaller departments help ABVP build momentum Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service BLO suspended for negligence PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 6.45 PM » TUESDAY | 1 SEPTEMBER 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Chandigarh, August 31 While the ABVP trailed in several of the larger departments, it managed to make up ground by securing a sizeable share of votes in smaller departments, particularly those in the sciences and arts. The results reflected a neckand-neck contest between the AAP-backed Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) and the ABVP , with both having a marginal edge over each other in different departments. Notably, the ASAP maintained its lead in departments with larger voter bases, while the ABVP recovered ground in several smaller departments. In the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), which had the largest voter base, ASAP’s Brar secured 471 votes, while ABVP’s Bidhan polled 514 votes. NUSI’s Gurman ASAP 134 126 313 158 85 34 ABVP 114 122 270 150 78 26 40 27 35 4,045 Aryan Saharan (INSO): 3,678 Muskan Chauhan (HPSU): 1,286 NOTA: 581 JOINTSECRETARY Vishal (Independent) 3,506 Devraj Singh Nain (HSA): 2,338 Ram Chander Singh (USO): 1,650 Ameen Kaur (AISA): 1,141 NOTA: 938 ASAP, allies dominate Evening Dept polls; Khokharelectedpresident WHERE ABVP TRAILED UBS Laws UILS UIAMS Physics Computer Science Centre for Emerging Areas in Science Biotechnology oldest and most politicallywatched campuses lets the party claim organic growth among young voters, many of them from Punjab, at a university that has historically rewarded AAP the Congress , and Independents over the saffron camp. Add an Akali student body’s endorsement to that win, and the BJP gets a talking point about widening its footprint in a state where it has struggled to move beyond a handful of urban pockets. Caution is still in order on both counts. Bidhan’s win came in a four-cornered contest, with NSUI’s Gurman Singh Sidhu, ASAP’s Aadil Bir Singh and Sath’s Darshpreet continued on page 2 SECRETARY Dhyan Singh (Independent) 18 Tribune News Service SCENE AT COLLEGES: Students of DAV College, Sector 10; and SD College, Sector 32, celebrate after the victory of their respective candidates. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: RAVI KUMAR/VICKY PAGE 3 MAXIMUM NOTA VOTES PRESIDENT: 24 in UIET; 15 in the Department of Laws VICE-PRESIDENT: 91 in UIET; 33 in Chemical Engineering JOINT SECY: 135 in UIET; 129 in UILS Singh managed 229 votes, while Sath’s Darshpreet Singh polled 130. The picture was slightly different at the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), which had the continued on page 2 c m y b Chandigarh, August 31 The Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP) emerged as the dominant force in the Panjab University student elections, with its candidates and alliance partners winning six of the eight seats, including the key posts of president, vice-president and general secretary, in the Evening Department. Harmanpreet Singh Khokhar of ASAP was elected president, while Jobanpreet Singh Sohi of the USOASAP alliance won the vice-president’s post. Savitaz Kaur of the SOPU-ASAP alliance was elected general secretary. The Student Front finished second, while the ABVP stood third. ASAP also finished second in the contest for the presi- Harmanpreet Singh Khokhar dent’s post in the Morning Department elections. The Evening Department results assume significance against the backdrop of the Morning Department elections, in which the ASAP panel finished second in the presidential contest. The ASAP alliance also secured two key positions — Arman Bhinder of the PUDF won the vice-president’s post, while Vishal Bamal, who contested as an Independent in alliance with ASAP won the , joint secretary’s post.