BHUBANESWAR: University and college campuses across the state were abuzz with poll fervour as over 8,500 candidates filed nominations on Friday for the October 15 student union elections, with student organisations putting up an impressive show of strength through rallies and processions.
Higher Education department sources said over 8,500 candidates filed nominations, including 8,325 in colleges across the state. Of the total nominations received from colleges, 1,175 were rejected, leaving 7,168 valid forms.
Candidates at prominent universities and colleges arrived in large processions to submit their nomination papers.
Hundreds of candidates backed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) filed their nominations across 13 universities, including Utkal, Rama Devi and Ravenshaw, and over 300 colleges.
The All India Students’ Federation (AISF) also fielded candidates at Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, Maa Manikeswari University and 35 other colleges across Puri, Khurda, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Sundargarh, Bhadrak, Ganjam and other districts. Drumbeats and traditional musical instruments reverberated during the nomination process, as student groups mobilised supporters in large numbers to demonstrate their strength.
ABVP national executive council member Biswajit Patra said the outfit is reaching out to students with an agenda of campus development and restoring students’ voices on campuses. “The students’ voices had been suppressed for the last years. We will restore it,” he added.
AISF state president Sanghamitra Jena said the organisation was highlighting demands for social security, free bus services for all, quality education, regularisation of staff and timely filling of vacant teaching posts in colleges and universities across the state.