BHUBANESWAR: Even as the state government has announced to hold students’ union elections from next year, the ruling BJP’s students’ wing ABVP on Thursday began a signature drive across campuses demanding the polls this year.
The drive began at Utkal University and Kamala Nehru College. With the students’ union elections not being held in the state since 2018, the ABVP members sought support from students over their demand for inclusion of campus elections in the academic calendar and organising it for the 2024-25 session.
ABVP state general secretary Arijeet Pattanaik said the signature campaign will be extended to other colleges and universities to generate students’ awareness on the need for holding the much-delayed campus polls. “There are many issues on campuses that are not being resolved in the absence of elected bodies,” he said.
The NSUI, too, has upped its ante demanding holding of students’ union elections this year. Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leaders had raised the issue in the State Assembly’s budget session.
Senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati said campus elections have been put off for one reason or the other since 2018 by the then BJD government. “The BJP government which had earlier declared to hold campus elections has also gone back on its word. The NSUI will hold protests across the state if students’ union elections are not held,” he said. Meanwhile, members of BCJD have maintained silence on the issue so far.