Odisha student union elections will return to college and university campuses on October 15 after an eight-year suspension, with 6,891 candidates contesting across 359 higher educational institutions. Polling will take place from 8 am to 2 pm, results are scheduled for the same day and elected representatives will take oath on October 16.
The elections cover 346 colleges and 13 universities. According to the higher education department, 866 candidates are contesting for president, 716 for vice-president and 616 for general secretary. The remaining candidates are contesting other union positions under the election framework prescribed for the institutions.
The return to campus polling has brought the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Biju Chhatra Janata Dal and Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India into the contest. The All-India Students’ Federation and independent candidates are also participating. Campaigns have focused on campus infrastructure, student safety and welfare, while nomination disputes and concerns over violence have affected the election process.
Elections have been cancelled in at least 15 colleges across Odisha for reasons including violence and protests over rejected nominations. The disruptions have raised concerns about whether institutions can conduct polling while maintaining campus safety and preventing disputes from affecting academic activity.
Higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj on Wednesday asked heads of institutions to ensure free and fair elections and appealed to candidates and voters to maintain peace. The department has established a control room to monitor developments across colleges and universities and help authorities respond to incidents during the polling process.
The elections are being conducted under the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines and a code of conduct. Candidates must meet age and academic eligibility requirements, have at least 75% attendance and have no disqualifying criminal or disciplinary record. The age limit is 17 to 22 years for undergraduate students and 25 years for postgraduate students.
Students enrolled in self-financing courses through the Student Academic Management System are eligible to vote and contest. Students enrolled in public-private partnership programmes are excluded from the process. Institutions have also been directed to address misinformation, including content generated using artificial intelligence.
The last statewide campus elections were held in 2017. Polls planned for 2018 were cancelled amid Cyclone Titli and campus disturbances, while elections remained suspended in subsequent years, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. The BJP government later committed to restoring campus polls, with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi backing their revival.
A vice-chancellor of a city-based university, who requested anonymity, said the election would provide representation to students who had spent their college years without regular union polls. The official also said the longer-term test would be whether elected unions could address student welfare and academic concerns beyond the campaign period.
The higher education department’s control room and institutional authorities will oversee the October 15 polling, with results expected later the same day and oath-taking scheduled for October 16.
