Bhubaneswar: As campuses across Odisha gear up for student union elections after an eight-year hiatus, the state government has directed district collectors and SPs to visit state-run colleges and universities and extend full support to ensure peaceful polling.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg issued the directions while chairing a high-level meeting to review preparations for the polls. Formal notifications for elections in government-run and aided colleges and universities were issued, with polling scheduled for October 15. Nominations will be filed on October 9, and results declared the same day as voting.
Garg instructed collectors and SPs to prevent any violence, disorder or disturbance on campuses. District administrations and police have been asked to work closely with institutions to facilitate smooth polls. Senior officers, including additional district magistrates and sub-collectors, will also visit higher educational institutions in their districts. During these visits, they will interact with college and university authorities as well as students to understand concerns and assess arrangements.
The SPs have been directed to visit institutions before nomination filing begins on October 9. Police will monitor the situation from nominations through polling, counting, results and the post-election period to maintain peace and discipline. Officials have been instructed to pay heightened attention to campuses with a history of past unrest, strictly enforcing Higher Education Department rules alongside the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines.
“Maintaining law and order and ensuring a healthy academic environment in higher educational institutions is our priority,” Garg said, directing educational institutions, district administrations and the police to work together for violence-free elections.
Campus poll buzz gains pace
With nominations set for October 9, the preliminary ‘Why I Stand For’ address on October 14, and single-day voting, counting, and result declarations scheduled for October 15, intense political momentum has returned to major state institutions. Student wings associated with the state’s primary political parties, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD), and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), have stepped up campus outreach, holding mass rallies, movie screenings, and voter engagement drives. Aspiring candidates from premier institutes, including Utkal University, Rama Devi Women’s University, BJB Autonomous College, and Rajdhani College, along with several other government and government-aided colleges, visited academic departments and lecture halls on Tuesday to connect directly with student voters. During these interactions, candidates focused on gathering feedback regarding pressing campus issues, identifying key infrastructure and administrative facilities that require urgent improvement, and gauging the overall voter sentiment surrounding the forthcoming polls.
…but in GMU
However, direct open elections will not be held At Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) in Sambalpur. Continuing a practice established after its last direct poll in 1998, GMU is implementing a criteria-based selection process. “We have been following a merit and participation-based selection process to constitute the student representative council/body. A committee has been formed to maintain discipline and a meeting of hostel warden has been called. Instead of traditional campaigning and direct elections, which often disrupt academic atmosphere and campus peace, students are selected based on academic performance, attendance, discipline, extra-curricular involvement, and leadership qualities. This meritocratic selection process ensures proper student representation while keeping the focus entirely on academic excellence and campus harmony,” GMU of Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Byomakesh Tripathy told the media.
Under this framework, participation in student body governance is restricted to eligible representatives evaluated on specific benchmarks, including a mandatory 75 per cent class attendance rate, top academic marks, and recommendations from department heads or class representatives.
The Vice Chancellor emphasised that the pre-2018 process will be followed while adhering to all government guidelines.
The university has held indirect student union elections since 2000, restricting candidacy and voting rights to a select electoral college. Starting in the 2018–19 academic year, reforms allowed regular students to run for top positions—President, Vice President, General Secretary, and Assistant General Secretary—though all other executive roles remain restricted to electoral college members. This electoral body consists of academic toppers from each year and department (UG to PG), as well as two students nominated for extra-curricular achievements (one UG, one PG).
While many GMU students support the merit-based selection model to prevent election-related violence and preserve academic order, several have raised concerns regarding operational clarity. Students have requested a standardised, transparent procedure from the university administration, noting that first-year postgraduate students face uncertainty as they lack university-level examination marks to establish immediate eligibility.
“Administration has stated clearly that this year election will be held on selection basis, which means only a few select students will be allowed to vote. This decision has been taken to ensure peace on campus. We accept it, but first-year postgraduate students lack university-level exam marks to determine their eligibility. The varsity should look into it,” one student said.
Across both voting and selection campuses, student bodies have demanded non-partisan, transparent procedures that restore genuine student representation.
Return of elections on campuses
Notably, campus elections in Odisha have remained suspended since 2018 under the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government. At the time, the state administration cited disruptions from natural disasters, specifically Cyclone Titli, alongside rising campus violence and, subsequently, the COVID-19 pandemic as primary reasons for halting student polls.
During the 2024 assembly elections campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had pledged to revive student union elections if elected to power. Fulfilling its electoral promise, the BJP government confirmed the revival of the poll process earlier this year, framing it as an essential step toward restoring student leadership and democratic values across state universities and degree colleges.
