Odisha Campus Elections Return After Long Gap; Govt Steps Up Security Measures

Bhubaneswar: Student parliament elections are set to return to Odisha’s colleges and universities this month after a long gap, with the state government stepping up measures to ensure peaceful and orderly polling.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan to review preparations for elections across higher education institutions. She directed all District Collectors and SPs to extend full support to institutions and prevent violence or disruption.

Nomination filing will be held on October 9, while voting and result declaration are scheduled for October 15.

Garg stressed that maintaining peace and protecting the academic environment must remain the top priorities. District authorities have been asked to strictly follow the Lyngdoh Commission guidelines in case of any unrest.

Under the guidelines, non-students are prohibited from entering campuses, interfering in the election process or creating disturbances. Collectors and SPs have been directed to closely monitor compliance.

Collectors, SPs, Additional District Magistrates and Sub-Collectors will visit higher education institutions in their respective districts and interact with authorities and students regarding election arrangements. Special focus will be placed on campuses that witnessed student unrest during previous elections.

Higher Education Commissioner-cum-Secretary Aravind Agrawal briefed officials on the election schedule and rules and said institutional data and the standard operating procedure for poll management would be shared with district authorities.

Police and intelligence officials said SPs would inspect campuses before the nomination process begins. Security monitoring will continue through nominations, polling, counting, result declaration and the immediate post-election period.

The meeting was attended by Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Deoranjan Kumar Singh, DGP Vinaytosh Mishra, Intelligence Director R.P. Koche and senior Higher Education Department officials. District Collectors and SPs participated virtually.

With campus elections returning after a prolonged gap, the government has made it clear that the polls will be conducted under strict administrative and police supervision, with peace and academic discipline taking priority.