Clean sweep: Dr H S Kingra becomes PAUTA president again

TNNLudhiana: Dr H S Kingra has once again been elected as president of Punjab Agricultural University Teachers' Association (PAUTA), securing 540 votes and defeating his rival, Dr R S Chandi, who secured 147 votes. The elections resulted in a clean sweep for Dr Kingra's team, which won most of the posts. Dr Kingra has served multiple times as PAUTA president and is one of the most vocal advocates of faculty rights in the university. In the race for vice-president, Dr Ranjit Singh won with 558 votes, comfortably ahead of Dr J S Kang, who secured 134. For the post of secretary, Dr Chetan Singla received 562 votes, defeating Dr K S Manhas, who got 126. The position of joint secretary was clinched by Dr H S Bhullar with 538 votes, while his competitor, Dr K S Bhullar, finished with 145. Dr Sukpreet Singh was elected treasurer with 519 votes, defeating Dr Rajesh Goyal, who secured 169. The six posts of councillors went to Dr Dharminder Bhatia, Dr Dilpreet Talwar, Dr Gurupkar Singh Sidhu, Dr Hari Mohan Meena, Dr Mandeep Sharma, and Dr Vajinder Kalra. They all receiving more than 500 votes. Other candidates in the fray, Mahesh Chand, Nilesh Biwalkar, Sonika Sharma, and Subash Singh, lagged far behind, with vote counts ranging between 156 and 190.The Kingra panel maintained its dominance in the Northern zone constituencies. For the Extension North councillor post, Dr R S Bal defeated Dr Surender Singh by a margin of 557 to 120 votes. For Research North, Dr B K Bhople won with 508 votes, while Dr Harpreet Singh trailed with 166. Two candidates for the post of councillors, including Gurpreet Singh and Chetan Bishnoi Dr Kingra's panel, were elected unopposed, as no nominations were filed against them. Dr Gurvinder Pal Singh Dhillon, Dr Parminder Singh and Dr Devinder Tiwari were the returning officers. Dr Dhillon announced results. Reacting to the victory, Dr Kingra thanked the teaching community for their continued faith in his leadership. "This result is not about an individual but about collective resolve. We will carry forward the agenda of teacher welfare, transparency, and academic dignity with renewed commitment. The union would be strengthened, and all issues of the faculty including arrears, promotions, and other issues at the university and the state level would be prioritised," he said.