SUNIT MISHRA, OP
Bhubaneswar: Debate is intensifying over whether student union elections will be held in Odisha this year. Sources indicate the state government is interested in conducting the elections, but no final decision has been taken yet.
The All India Students’ Union (ABVP) Saturday demanded that student union elections be held this year in several colleges and universities across Odisha.
Separate delegations of the ABVP and the Students’ Congress later met Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj and urged the government to conduct the elections.
The ABVP has demanded that the elections be held before the upcoming Dussehra vacation. However, a Students’ Congress delegation led by its president Bibhuti Bhusan Mahapatra has taken a different position.
Citing the limited time left before the Dussehra break, the Students’ Congress has demanded that the elections be held after the vacation.
Meanwhile, sources said differences had emerged between the ABVP and the BJP Yuva Morcha over several issues.
Representatives of the two organisations held a closed-door meeting Thursday in an effort to resolve their differences.
The Yuva Morcha reportedly heard the grievances raised by the ABVP and assured its representatives that the issues would be addressed.
According to sources, the Yuva Morcha told the ABVP during the meeting that it had been demanding student union elections for years, but the previous BJD government had not allowed them.
With the BJP now in power, the long-standing demand could be fulfilled if elections are held.
The Yuva Morcha reportedly urged the ABVP to contest the elections without any grievances and work toward victory, saying this was an opportunity to fulfil its long-standing demand.
The differences between the two organisations are now said to have been resolved. Sources also said the government, which is keen to hold the elections, has asked the ABVP to submit a memorandum.
This could allow the organisation to later claim credit for helping revive student union elections in Odisha after an eight-year gap.
The government, too, could claim credit for conducting the elections.
After learning about these developments, the Students’ Congress also approached the higher education minister and demanded that elections be held.
This would enable the organisation to point out that it had also pushed for the restoration of student union elections if the ABVP later claims credit.
The Students’ BJD, however, appears to have been left behind in the competition.
Some senior BJD leaders have begun saying that there are differences on several issues among the party’s youth and student wings.