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UP to hold students union polls on Lyngdoh panel pattern

By IANS,

Lucknow: Students union polls in Uttar Pradesh would be held on the basis of recommendations made by the high-powered Lyngdoh Committee, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav ordered Thursday.

Pointing out that though the dates for the students union polls were yet to be announced, posters and hoardings were plastered all over, Akhilesh Yadav asked university administrations, college managements and district officials to immediately stop such activities.

The Samajwadi Party government, soon after taking over, had decided to revive the student unions in all universities and degree colleges of the state. A government order (GO) was issued March 21 to hold students union polls based on the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee.

Major recommendations of the committee include a blanket ban on use of printed posters, pamphlets or any other printed material for publicity and campaigning. Candidates are only allowed to use handmade publicity material.

A ceiling of Rs.5,000 on poll expenditure has been fixed. Use of loudspeakers, vehicles and animals has also been banned and all candidates in the fray have been asked not to conduct activities that create tension between castes, communities or religious groups etc.

The committee has also recommended that only those students will be able to contest the polls who have no criminal background and against whom no cases are pending in any court. They must not have been sentenced by any court of the land and have no disciplinary action initiated by the college management or varsity administration against them.

The Lyngdoh Committee also recommended that if any candidate was found to have breached the expense limit set by it, the election would be declared null and void.

Students union polls in the state have been marred by violence and charges of use of muscle power and money in the past. The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government had banned the polls.