BHUBANESWAR: The students' union elections this year will be held on October 5. The Department of Higher Education (DHE) on Saturday made an announcement in this regard.
Students are already geared up for elections as banners and posters of the aspirants can be seen displayed on college campuses. Campaigning in colleges had already started days before the DHE announced the date and students' groups affiliated to political parties finalised their president candidates.
As per the announcement, the official notification for the elections will be made on September 28 at college level. Filing of nomination papers and verification would be completed on September 29. Candidates can withdraw their nominations on October 1 and the final list of contesting candidates would be made public by evening on the same day.
The 'What I Stand For' meeting has been scheduled for October 4. Students will cast the votes on October 5 and the results will be declared on the same day.
The DHE has notified that during the election, no outsider will be allowed to take part in the process and expenditure per candidate would be `5,000.
Polls at Utkal University
Since no violent incident has been reported in Utkal University this year, there is a likelihood of elections. Elections in the State's premier university were cancelled last year due to recurring violent clashes between different factions of students on campus.
Vice-Chancellor Ashok Das said the university is ready to hold the election but security of students comes first. "If there is no violence on the campus, we do not have a problem holding it," he said, adding that security on the campus is being increased. On Saturday, close circuit cameras (CCTVs) were installed near the main gate of the university and subsequently, more CCTVs will be put up on the campus.
Situation to be reviewed
Officials in the DHE said they are reviewing the situation in the colleges where elections were not held last year and a decision will be taken soon.
Last year, elections in 17 colleges across the State and Utkal University were called off due to campus violence. In Bhubaneswar, the colleges were Rajdhani College, Maharishi College of Natural Law and City Women's College.