BHUBANESWAR: Celebrations erupted across college and university campuses after the state government announced conduct of student union elections on October 15, bringing an end to the eight-long-year wait.
Students, student associations and volunteer organisations and political party-affiliated student wings, including ABVP, BJCD and NSUI, welcomed the decision, terming it as a major step towards restoring democratic participation on campuses.
“The elections will provide students with a platform to raise youth, student and campus-related issues and learn the fundamentals of democratic participation. The elections will also help create a new generation of leaders who understand grassroots issues,” said Asit Pradhan, a PG student from Utkal University.
“When a student thinks of making a career in politics, a college or university is the first step in that direction. However, that very step remained blocked for eight years. We are happy that the government has now revived the elections, allowing students to participate in the democratic process and develop leadership skills,” said Manoj, another student from the University.
Soon after the announcement was made, members of ABVP held rallies near Utkal University, Rajdhani College and some other higher education institutions, raising slogans in celebration.
ABVP leaders said the announcement is a major victory for them as they had been demanding conduct of campus elections in the state for years. “When BJD was in power, we had moved to the High Court in 2023 seeking conduct of students’ union elections. We had also raised our voice after the elections didn’t take place for the last two years in the BJP regime,”said ABVP national executive council member Bishwajit Patra.
NSUI Odisha president Bibhuti Bhushan Mahapatra said student elections are returning to campuses after a long gap. “This is not merely an election, but a major opportunity to uphold students’ democratic rights, promote leadership development and enable students to raise their own issues,” he said.
He, however, alleged that the very short time has been given for the elections. This has deprived student organisations and candidates of adequate time to prepare. Calling it a planned move by the government, Mahapatra said, they will not allow this conspiracy to succeed. “Student Congress will fight it with determination in every college,”he said.
The BCJD while welcoming the announcement, also accused the ruling party of making attempts to hijack the campus elections. President Ipsita Sahoo told mediapersons that the abrupt announcement and giving such a short span of time for conduct of elections shows that the government is trying to hijack the election using its money and machinery. “However, the Gen Z will give a befitting reply to it,” Sahoo said.