PUTA Elections: High Number of Invalid Votes Raises Eyebrows on Punjabi University Campus
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 26,2026
Polling for the much-awaited Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA) elections was held on March 26, 2026, to elect the new executive body.
Nishan Singh Deol was elected president, Sikander Singh as vice president, Avneet Pal as secretary, and Kanwalpreet Attwal as joint secretary. Both groups—PTF and PTA—secured two posts each among the top positions.
A striking aspect of the elections that has raised many eyebrows is the unusually high number of “invalid votes.” As there is no provision for NOTA (None of the Above) in these elections, it appears that several teachers chose to reject the candidates by deliberately invalidating their ballots, which were ultimately counted as invalid votes.
The election outcome, along with the surge in invalid votes, has triggered several questions within the university. Despite allegations raised by the opposition group, Nishan Singh Deol won the presidential election.
Meanwhile, women candidates who formed a third front and showed courage in contesting against what they described as injustice did not perform as expected.
The losing candidates, Gurnam Singh Virk and Maninder Singh—considered strong contenders for the posts of president and secretary—appear to have been overshadowed by the alleged misconduct of their group’s outgoing president, Bhupinder Singh Virk, who has been accused of sexual harassment by two female faculty members.
The detail of total votes, polled votes, invalid votes , candidates polled votes are:
*President*
Total – 445
Invalid – 36
Valid – 409
*Dr. Nishan Singh Deol – 209*
Dr. Gurnam Virk – 187
Dr. Monika Chawla – 13
*Vice President*
Total – 445
Invalid – 42
Valid – 403
Dr. Gurjit Singh Bhathal – 179
*Dr. Sikander Singh – 206*
Dr. Nimmi – 18
*Secretary*
Total – 445
Invalid – 25
Valid – 420
*Dr. Avneet Pal – 212*
Dr. Maninder Singh – 201
Dr. Nimmi – 15
*Joint Secretary*
Total – 445
Invalid – 26
Valid – 419
Dr. Amardeep Singh-176
*Dr. Kanwalpreet Attwal-220*
Dr. Nimmi-23
