BHUBANESWAR: A clash broke out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) at Utkal University on Wednesday, minutes before a ‘Why I Stand For’ meeting, a day ahead of the students’ union elections.
Police sources said an altercation escalated into a scuffle, with members of both groups allegedly hurling chairs at one another inside the university’s convocation hall. Two students sustained minor injuries in the incident.
The BCJD alleged that its members were targeted during the programme. “Students supporting us were attacked. They are also being threatened in the hostels and forced to vote for our rival party’s candidate,” a BCJD member alleged.
ABVP members refuted the allegations, claiming that BCJD supporters had attacked them. A fourth-year student was assaulted by BCJD supporters and sustained injuries, the student outfit alleged.
Sources said several outsiders were present on the campus earlier in the day and were involved in the violence. Both groups accused each other of bringing outsiders onto the campus and attacking their members.
Bhubaneswar DCP Saravana Vivek M and other senior police officers rushed to the university to defuse the tension. “Two students sustained minor injuries in the incident. The situation is under control, and police deployment is in place to prevent any untoward incident,” Saravana said.
Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University Prof Chandi Prasad Nanda, in the presence of the DCP, held a meeting with representatives and candidates of various student organisations to ensure that the elections pass off peacefully.
The incident came a day before students’ union elections across the state. A total of 6,891 candidates are in the fray across 359 higher educational institutions, including 346 colleges and 13 universities.
Amid reports of unrest at various institutions, Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj directed educational institutions to ensure free and fair elections and urged candidates and voters to maintain peace.
As many as 866 candidates are contesting for the post of president, including 828 in colleges and 38 in universities. Another 716 candidates are in the fray for vice-president, comprising 679 in colleges and 37 in universities. For general secretary, 616 candidates are contesting, including 593 in colleges and 23 in universities.
Candidates fielded by the ABVP, BCJD, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and independent aspirants are contesting the elections.
The results will be declared in the afternoon, while the newly-elected student council representatives will take oath on October 16. Elections have been cancelled in at least 15 colleges due to violence and disputes over nominations.
IN RD VARSITY, TENSION OVER PRESIDENT CANDIDATE’S BALLOT NUMBER CHANGE
Bhubaneswar: Tension erupted on the campus of Rama Devi Women’s University after allegations surfaced that the number on ballot paper of a top candidate had been changed. BCJD’s president candidate in Rama Devi Sonali Behera accused the university officials of changing the ballot number at the last minute. She said she had campaigned all through with the ballot number allotted to her but was surprised to see it had been altered at the last hour. “Despite giving us assurances that the ballot numbers will not be changed, the authorities altered them in the night. This will lead to serious confusion among voters,” she said. BCJD members staged protests claiming the discrepancies would confuse voters. University authorities also locked the main gate amid the tension.