Bhubaneswar: Early trends and results started pouring in from several colleges and universities in Odisha where student union elections were held on Thursday after a gap of eight years.
According to initial information, candidates backed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) registered victories at several institutions, including Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) in Sambalpur, Angul Mahila Mahavidyalaya and Talcher Autonomous College.
Swadhin Kumar Acharya was reportedly elected as the president of the students’ union of Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) in Sambalpur for the 2026-27 academic session. The university announced the provisional results after counting of votes polled earlier in the day.
Sanket Sahu was elected vice-president, while Nikhil Agrawal won the post of general secretary.
In the election for president, Swadhin Kumar Acharya secured 82 votes to defeat his nearest rival, Karanmay Sahu, who polled 76 votes. Priyabhadra S Prusty polled four votes. Swadhin won by a margin of six votes, with a total of 164 votes cast for the post.
Sanket Sahu registered a decisive victory in the vice-president election, securing 102 votes. His rivals, Pratyasha Dhar and Jogendra Kumar Mallik, received 46 and 14 votes, respectively. Sanket won by a margin of 56 votes.
For the post of general secretary election, Nikhil Agrawal secured 96 votes to emerge victorious. Rahul Meher received 53 votes, while Kismat Pandey polled 12 votes. Nikhil won by a margin of 43 votes.
In other results, Kiran Mallik was elected assistant secretary of the Athletic Club with 94 votes, defeating Shubham Kumar Mishra, who secured 39 votes. Kiran won by a margin of 55 votes.
At Angul Mahila Mahavidyalaya, ABVP supported candidates won all eight student union posts. Akankhya Pradhan won the president’s post, while Pritismita Nayak was elected general secretary. Simran Sahoo was elected vice-president unopposed. Ispita Priyadarshini Sahoo secured the assistant secretary’s post unopposed, while Sruti Pranjya Garnaik and Trisharani Pradhan were elected unopposed as athletic secretary and assistant sports secretary, respectively. Manini Behera and Lipsa Pradhan were also elected unopposed as dramatic society secretary and assistant dramatic society secretary, respectively.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed at Satapada Panchayat Degree College in Puri district after miscreants allegedly hurled bombs inside the campus.
According to sources, around 8 to 10 bombs were hurled inside the premises, triggering panic among students and staff. The attack took place after the college authorities decided to conduct the students’ union election through a selection process instead of direct voting.
Following the bombing incident, the college authorities declared a sine die closure of the college.
The incident comes as student union elections were held across colleges and universities in Odisha.
Following the incident, security has been tightened on the campus to prevent any violence.