HPNLU Hosts Group Level Competition of 18th National Youth Parliament Competition, 2025–26

Shimla, 2 October 2026

Himachal Pradesh National Law University (HPNLU), Shimla, under the leadership of Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Priti Saxena, hosted the Group Level Competition of the 18th National Youth Parliament Competition, 2025–26 under the aegis of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India. The event was organised by the Electoral Literacy Club (ELC), HPNLU,

The programme was graced by Shri Suresh Bhardwaj, Former Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Himachal Pradesh and Former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha, 2002–2008). Dr. Anupam Kurlwal, Group Coordinator, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Dr. Joginder Singh Saklani, Associate Professor (Political Science), ICDEOL, HPU, Shimla; and Prof. (Dr.) S.S. Jaswal, Dean Academic Affairs, HPNLU, were also present on the occasion.

The National Youth Parliament Competition seeks to strengthen democratic values and parliamentary awareness among students. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has organised participating institutions into twelve groups, with the competition being conducted at the Group Level before qualifying institutions advance to the National Level. Participants demonstrated their understanding of parliamentary procedures through debates, discussions, questions and deliberations, and were assessed on parliamentary conduct, procedural knowledge, quality of participation and effectiveness of expression.

Addressing the participants, the dignitaries emphasised the importance of constitutional values, informed public discourse and responsible democratic participation. The University’s message for the occasion was “संवाद, संयम और संविधान” (Dialogue, Discipline and the Constitution).

The prizes, certificates and mementos were distributed during the valedictory session. Among the participants from HPNLU Shimla, Dhananjay Singh, Tapasvi Ojha and Kartik Sharma secured the top positions in the competition. Devishi Uniyal, Nikita Meena and Sarthak Seth were awarded Special Prizes in recognition of their commendable performance. Ms. Nikita Meena, who performed the role of the Speaker of the House during the proceedings, was also felicitated by the dignitaries.

This marks the third consecutive occasion that HPNLU Shimla has hosted the National Youth Parliament Competition, having earlier hosted the 16th and 17th editions as well. The successful conduct of the event reflects the University’s continued commitment to promoting constitutional literacy, parliamentary awareness and informed democratic engagement among students. The programme was organized by Dr. Ved Prakash, Co-ordinator, Electoral Literacy Club and student team.