Bhubaneswar: Universities and colleges across Odisha were abuzz with election fervour as over 8,500 candidates filed their nominations on Friday for the 15 October campus polls, with student organisations putting up an impressive show of strength through rallies and processions.
Higher Education department sources said over 8,500 candidates filed nominations, including 8,343 in colleges. Of the total nominations received from colleges, 1,175 were rejected, leaving 7,168 valid forms.
According to the poll schedule, candidates can withdraw their nominations on Saturday between 10 am and 1 pm. The final list of candidates will be published at 3 pm.
On Friday, the electoral aspirants arrived in large processions to submit their nomination papers at prominent universities and colleges.
Drumbeats and traditional musical instruments reverberated during the nomination process, as student groups mobilised supporters in large numbers to demonstrate their strength.
Hundreds of candidates backed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) filed their nominations across 13 universities, including Utkal, Rama Devi and Ravenshaw, and over 300 colleges.
The All-India Students’ Federation (AISF) also fielded candidates at Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, Maa Manikeswari University and 35 other colleges across Puri, Khurda, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Sundargarh, Bhadrak, Ganjam and other districts.
ABVP national executive council member Biswajit Patra said the outfit is reaching out to students with an agenda of campus development and restoring students’ voices on campuses. “The students’ voices had been suppressed for the last several years. We will restore it,” he added.
AISF state president Sanghamitra Jena said the organisation was highlighting demands for social security, free bus services for all, quality education, regularisation of staff and timely filling of vacant teaching posts in colleges and universities across the state.
