Bhubaneswar, Oct. 5: Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD), the students' wing of the ruling Biju Janata Dal, stole the show at 624 junior colleges, degree colleges and universities winning most of the seats in polls held across the state today.

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from some campuses.

Although major student organisations, such as BCJD, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), are yet to compile their final state-wide poll data, the initial reports suggest that candidates of the students' wing of the BJD swept the polls on most campuses.

At Utkal University, BCJD candidates stole the show and won with a thumping majority. It was mostly a one-sided story as Opposition candidates, backed by political parties such as Congress and BJP, failed to put up an impressive show this year.

Mahesh Prasad was elected the president while Ipsita Sahoo won the post of general secretary of Utkal University . The candidature of Mahesh Prasad was questioned by a section of students who alleged that he had criminal antecedents.

University authorities said that about 60 per cent students cast their votes today. Tense moments were witnessed on the campus after some NSUI members attacked a BCJD supporter while he was on his way to cast his vote. The injured student was rushed to Capital Hospital.

At Ramadevi University, Anasuya Tripathy was elected president while Sangita Panda was elected the general secretary. Both of them represented the "Students Voice Group" - an informal students' group.

"Our win reasserts the fact that there is no need for any political interference in campus elections. We once again want to thank the students for supporting us," Anasuya said.

The voting began on campuses at 8am and continued till 2pm and results were announced in the evening. Riding on the shoulders of their supporters, the jubilant students took out rallies to celebrate their victory. Some groups took out huge bike rallies to mark their win. Adequate security provisions were made on campuses to check untoward incidents. However, sporadic incidents of violence were reported from some campuses.

At the University Law College, Swagatika Mohanty was elected the president while Silvasa Badajena was elected general secretary. Both the candidates are from BCJD.

Though the ABVP could not cut its teeth in the renowned institutes of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, it claimed to have won in other prominent colleges, such as Dhenkanal Autonomous College, Bhadrak Autonomous College, Sonepur College, and Kendrapara Autonomous College.

Cuttack

Rebel BJD candidate Lalatkeshari Das was elected as president of Ravenshaw University students' union. He pulled about 1,932 votes while his nearest rival, Debasish, got about 1,500 votes. "I will do my best to work for the development of the university and the students' community," said Lalatkeshari.

As many as 4,100 students of Ravenshaw exercised their franchise for the students' union election today. Nineteen students have used the "None of the Above" (Nota) option.

Many colleges of the district witnessed a poor turnout of students. At Christ College, BJCD backed candidates Chinmay Mohanty and Anil Patra were elected president and general secretary respectively. At Shailabala Women's College, election was held for the post of general secretary and other posts while Dipika Sahu, who was earlier elected president, remained uncontested.

Baripada

At North Odisha University, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supported candidate Radhakrushna Kar was elected president. The elections in many major colleges of Mayurbhanj district, such as MPC Autonomous College, MPC Junior College, Mayurbhanj Women's College and Baripada College, couldn't be held as the colleges were closed for indefinite period due to violence.

Balasore

Rajanikanta Khatua of NSUI has been elected president and Uttam Bhuyan of ABVP the general secretary in the students' union of Fakir MohanAutonomous College. In KKS Women's College, Monalisa Satpathy of BCJD and Alpha Rout of NSUI have been elected president and general secretary respectively.

Berhampur

All BCJD candidates of Berhampur University were elected uncontested, while the BCJD was also the show-stealer everywhere else in the district. Ratan Kumar Sethi of BCJD was elected president and Sashi Kanta Naik of the same party was made general secretary. At Khallikote Cluster University, BCJD candidates Soubhagya Kumar Rath and Sagar Nimai were made president and general secretary respectively. At Sashi Bhushan Rath Women's College, Prabhasini Guru was elected president and Sasmita Chowdhury was elected general secretary. At City College, Sunil Lenka was elected president and Siba Kumar Sethi was elected general secretary.

Sambalpur

At Sambalpur University, BCJD candidate Subhransu Padhee was elected the president, while Nancy Bhoi and Manas Rath of the same party were elected general secretaries.

At Gangadhar Meher University, BCJD's Rupesh Kumar Sahu was elected president and Independent candidate Puspak Kumar Hota was elected general secretary.

Other areas

Student's wing of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opened its account in the state's campus polls winning six posts at Rajendra Autonomous College. Tension prevailed at SCS College in Puri after a presidential aspirant lost by two votes. His supporters staged a protest demanding a recounting of votes. The oath-taking ceremony of the student leaders will be held tomorrow.

(With inputs from Priya Abraham in Bhubaneswar,
Vikash Sharma in Cuttack,
Sunil Patnaik in Berhampur,
Subrat Mohanty in Sambalpur and
Sibdas Kundu in Balasore)