Odisha Student Union Elections to Be Held on October 15 After 8 Years

AI FEED

Odisha will hold student union elections on October 15 after an eight-year gap.
Polling will take place from 8 am to 2 pm, followed by vote counting and result declaration.
Candidates must meet attendance, age and academic criteria, while political funding and outside participation are prohibited.

Bhubaneswar: Student union elections will return to higher educational institutions across Odisha on October 15, ending an eight-year suspension of campus polls.

Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj announced the election date on Monday after a high-level review meeting with Chief Minister Mohan Majhi. The elections will cover colleges and universities for the 2026-27 academic session.

Student elections in Odisha had remained suspended since 2018 under the previous Biju Janata Dal government. The administration had cited disruptions caused by natural disasters, including Cyclone Titli, along with campus violence and later the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for keeping the polls suspended.

Odisha Student Election Schedule 2026

The Higher Education Department has issued a detailed schedule for the election process. Joint Secretary Mousumi Nayak issued guidelines covering nominations, scrutiny, campaigning, polling and result declaration.

The key dates are:

October 7: Colleges will issue the official election notification and timeline.
October 9: Nomination filing will take place from 10 am to 1 pm. Scrutiny will be held from 2 pm to 4 pm, followed by publication of valid nominations at 5 pm.
October 10: Candidates can withdraw nominations from 10 am to 1 pm. The final candidate list will be published at 3 pm.
October 14: Institutions will hold the traditional “Why I Stand For” meeting.
October 15: Voting will take place from 8 am to 2 pm. Counting and declaration of results will begin at 2 pm and continue until completion.
October 16: The oath-taking ceremony will be held at 11 am.

Who Can Contest Student Elections?

The Higher Education Department has prescribed eligibility conditions for candidates.

For undergraduate, or +3 degree, courses, candidates must be between 17 and 22 years old. Postgraduate candidates can be up to 25 years old.

Candidates must also have at least 75% classroom attendance and no academic arrears in the current year. Those with criminal or disciplinary records will not be eligible.

Students enrolled through distance education and PPP self-financing programmes will not be eligible to contest or vote.

Political Parties, Campaigning Face Restrictions

The guidelines require student candidates to remain completely disassociated from political parties.

Non-students and outsiders will not be allowed to participate in the election process. Candidates are also prohibited from using political funds, while individual election expenditure has been capped at Rs 5,000.

Campaigning will be restricted to designated campus areas. Candidates can use handmade posters, but printed campaign materials are prohibited.

The rules also prohibit loudspeakers, vehicles, animals and off-campus rallies or public meetings as part of election campaigning.

Grievance Redressal and Security Rules

Educational institutions will establish Grievance Redressal Cells to deal with election-related complaints. Complaints are required to be addressed within 24 hours.

Any serious incident involving lawlessness must be reported to the local police within six hours.

The guidelines also provide for an alternative nomination-based model in institutions where authorities determine that peaceful elections cannot be guaranteed. This provision has been linked to observations of the Supreme Court.

BJP Government Revives Campus Polls

The return of student elections was among the promises made by the BJP during its 2024 Assembly election campaign.

After coming to power, the BJP government moved to revive student polls, presenting the decision as a measure aimed at restoring student leadership and democratic participation in colleges and universities.

The issue was also discussed at a meeting of BJP ministers and MLAs last month.