Students of BJB College take part in the poll campaign.Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: The state government today notified that the students’ union elections in the state would be held on October 19, but the atmosphere in most colleges was far from gung-ho.

Campaigning is yet to pick up since most aspirants are apprehensive about meeting the eligibility criteria for contesting the polls.

“Attendance is a major consideration for seeking candidature and many aspirants often lose out on that front. So, once the final list of valid nominations is announced this Friday, the aspirants will surely try every trick in the book to sway voters in their favour,” said Suman Das, an administrative officer of Ramadevi Women’s College here.

Another reason for the unenthusiastic attitude of students towards campus polls this year is the approaching Dussehra. “Mid-semester exams for the second and final-year students are over. So the majority of hostel boarders have started leaving for their respective hometowns for Durga Puja. Hence, that usual election fervour is missing from the campus,” Das said.

At BJB College, too, canvassing has been low-key. Sibabrata, a final-year student aspiring for the post of college union president, said he would wait till his nomination was declared valid. “Our first priority is to maintain peace and discipline on the campus, especially because elections in our college was called off last year because of violence. I will definitely intensify campaign after my candidature is confirmed, but I won’t go over the top since the spending limit is Rs 5,000,” he said.

The Plus Two students of BJB, however, were seen campaigning fervently. Supporters of an aspirant donned the costumes of Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse and Goofy, and were handing out pushing cards to their juniors and classmates.

“One of them even distributed toffees,” said Rupali, a first-year commerce student.

The campaigning scenario at Kamala Nehru Women’s College was just a tad more lively. “It will become even more pronounced by next week,” said principal Pradosh Kumar Patnaik.

Authorities of most colleges said they had requested police to conduct daily patrolling around their campuses to prevent untoward incidents.