Bhubaneswar: With student union elections in Odisha approaching, excitement has reached a new high in colleges and universities across the state as battlelines are now drawn for the campus polls, being held after a gap of eight years.
The Higher Education Department has released the final list of candidates for the student union elections scheduled to be held on October 15. Polling is slated to be held in 13 universities and 347 colleges, with more than 6,700 candidates reportedly left in the race.
The release of the final candidate list has set the stage for the contest across campuses. In 13 universities, 429 candidates had filed nominations. Of these, 49 nominations were rejected and 34 candidates withdrew, leaving 346 candidates in the fray.
Similarly, 8,370 candidates initially filed nominations in 347 colleges. After 1,196 nominations were rejected and 405 candidates withdrew, the reported number of candidates remaining in the contest stands at 6,362.
With Sunday being a holiday, candidates could not reach students through classroom campaigning. Instead, they took to social media and visited hostels to discuss their plans, highlight student issues and seek support ahead of polling day.
In Vani Vihar campus of Utkal University, candidates are focusing on issues that directly affect students, including drinking water, sanitation and campus safety.
Several candidates raised concerns about hostel facilities, claiming that students across three floors had to share a single water purifier. The representative also highlighted sanitation problems and the need for a safer environment for women students.
Different groups of students are reaching out to students to explain its plans and seek their support in addressing campus issues.
Most of the candidates stressed the need for concrete steps to make the campus safer and free from fear, while improving the academic environment.
