Bhubaneswar -: ABVP Friday claimed that it secured victories in eight out of the 13 state universities in student elections held in the state after eight years, prompting Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to assert that the result reflects the faith of Gen Z in Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi. The Opposition BJD-affiliat-ed Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BC-JD), on the other hand, said its candidates secured 55 to 60 per cent of the seats.
The NSUI, students’ wing of the Congress, claimed that it won president posts in 30 colleges and stood second in another 80 institutes. Student union elections in the state are not conducted on political lines, but parties back candidates. ABVP state secretary Dipti-mayee Pratihari claimed that the organisation secured vic-tories in eight out of 13 state universities, winning eight president, eight vice-president, 10 secretary, and 11 assistant general secretary posts.
She claimed that RSS’s stu-dent wing swept the entire panel at Utkal University and won all posts except the pres-ident’s position at Ravenshaw University. Pratihari said they were de-feated at Rama Devi Women’s University and accused rival organisations of using money and muscle power.
In a post on X, the ABVP said the BCJD won the posts of president in five universities and general secretary position in one. The post also mentioned that the NSUI secured victory in the general secretary’s post in one varsity and none in the presi-dent position. “The candidates of BCJD have won in about 55 to 60 per cent of the unions across the state, including prestigious Rame Devi Women University and Ravenshaw University,” BCJD president Ipsita Sahoo told reporters. National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) state president Bibhuti Bhusan Mohapatra said they have won president posts in 30 colleges from various parts of Odisha, including Chitrokon-da, Kantabanji, and Luisingha and remained in second posi-tion at another 80 colleges.
“Despite such a short span of time, the NSUI has won the election at such a good number of colleges. I congratulate all the winning candidates of NSUI and will make all efforts to win more colleges and universities in coming years,” he said. The elections were held in 346 colleges and 13 universities across the state. A total of 6.891 candidates were in the fray, of whom 1,398 were elected. Of them, 756 won unopposed, while 642 were elected through contests, officials said. “Heartfelt congratulations to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidy-arthi Parishad (ABVP) for its historic and spectacular victory in student union elections across colleges and universities in Odisha,” the chief minister said in a post on X.
“This victory is a symbol of the unwavering faith and trust that the youth generation (Gen Z) holds in the esteemed Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji,” Majhi said. “I wish all the victorious rep-resentatives a successful tenure and a bright future as they con-tribute to nation-building and the vision of a Viksit Odisha,” Majhi said.
Majhi alleged that the previ-ous BJD government kept stu-dent union elections suspended to serve its political interests, depriving students of their democratic voice. “Our government fulfilled its promise to the student commu-nity by successfully conducting the elections and restoring the spirit of democracy on campus-es,” Majhi said.
BJD president Naveen Patnaik, on the other hand, charged the BJP with adopting unfair means in the elections. “I commend all the leaders of BJD and BCJD (Biju Chhatra Janata Dal) who stood firmly against the BJP government’s conspiracy to win the Students Union election through injus-tice and unfair means,” the leader of the Opposition said in an X post. The five-time chief minister also congratulated the winning candidates.
“This victory reflects the dedication and unity of Odis-ha’s #GenZ, youth, and student power… Let us all unite to move forward in maintaining the academic environment of the college and shaping a bright fu-ture for the students,” Patnaik added. Deputy Chief Minister Pra-vati Parida criticised Patnaik, saying, “The BJD was afraid of youth, which is why the previ-ous government did not hold student union elections for the past eight years.”
