Bhubaneswar: Students’ union elections in colleges and universities in Odisha will be held in the coming academic year, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced on Thursday.
The announcement assumes significance as student body elections have not taken place in the state in the past six years.
Speaking at the 49th state conference of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Chief Minister also lashed out at the previous BJD government for stopping the students’ union elections for so many years.
Wondering as to why the BJD regime stopped the union elections in colleges and universities, Majhi said the state government is actively taking steps for holding students’ union elections in the next academic year.
It may be noted that student union elections were halted since 2018 by the previous government citing different reasons. On several occasions, it was suspended because of cyclones, COVID-19, and campus unrest.
Political parties other than BJD claimed that opportunities for leadership development among students were halted because of suspension of these elections.
Various groups of students also staged protests against the decision of the previous government.