Odisha students celebrate as Chief Minister promises return of union elections

Bhubaneswar, Dec 26: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced on Thursday that student union elections will be reinstated in colleges and universities for the upcoming academic year. This announcement is significant as the state has not held any student body elections in the last six years.

During an event hosted by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bhubaneswar, the Chief Minister criticized the previous BJD government, led by Naveen Patnaik, for its prolonged suspension of these elections. “The state government is actively working towards conducting student union elections next year. I am perplexed as to why the former government chose to stop these elections,” Majhi stated.

The BJD government had halted student union elections since 2018, citing various reasons such as cyclones, COVID-19, and campus unrest. The suspension of these elections led to missed opportunities for student leadership development, according to several student organizations. Over time, numerous protests erupted among students, who accused the government of fearing rising anti-government sentiment on campuses as the reason for the cancellation of elections.