Students’ Union Elections Very Likely In Odisha This Year; ABVP Begins Preparations

Bhubaneswar: The state unit of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), has started preparations for the campus polls, hinting at the possibility of college elections being held this year.

At a press conference, ABVP members informed that selection of candidates to contest the students’ union elections has been finalised in 70% of higher educational institutions.

A membership drive is underway to have more students under the ABVP. The target is to bring 2.5 lakh students under the ABVP fold before the college elections, which mostly happens prior to the Dussehra holidays.

ABVP’s state general secretary Arijeet Pattanaik said with the BJP coming to power in the state, they are hopeful that the students’ union elections will be held this year.

Student wings of BJD and Congress also said they are prepared to face the college elections if there is an official announcement by the Higher Education department.

Earlier, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj had informed that discussions on holding students’ union elections are underway.

While no student councils have been elected in the last six years, higher education institutions have been nominating student representatives to various bodies where it is required.

In 2023, Pattanaik had filed a petition in the Orissa High Court seeking its direction to then BJD government to conduct students’ union elections which were stopped in the state since 2018 on the pretext of maintaining peace and harmony on the campuses.

Senior advocate Pitambar Acharya, arguing on behalf of the petitioners, submitted that the cancellation of students’ union elections in different universities and educational institutions of the state since 2019 has resulted in the infringement of the fundamental rights of students.