Bhubaneswar, Sept. 18: The students’ union elections might not be held this year with the flood situation in the state remaining serious. The state government is yet to take a decision regarding campus polls although the Puja vacations, before which elections are normally held, are round the corner.

Chinmaya Sahu, president of the state wing of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), said uncertainty over elections had left many aspirants confused.

“According to the Lyngdoh Committee’s recommendations, elections must be conducted within five to seven weeks of the start of a fresh academic session. We cannot ignore the devastation caused by floods, but the government should have taken a concrete decision by now. Naturally, the students are confused,” Sahu said.

On the other hand, secretary of the higher education department Chandra Shekhar Kumar said the students’ union elections were generally held before colleges close for Puja vacations, provided normal conditions prevail.

“But because of floods, the government is busy with the distribution of relief materials. But we would take a decision very soon, probably in the coming week, whether or not to conduct elections this year,” he said.

President of Biju Chhaatra Janata Dal Ranjit Mohapatra said he was hopeful that campus elections would be held this year despite all odds.

“Colleges in several districts have been submerged by floodwaters. Yet the students are looking forward to the elections. It does not matter when they are held, before or after Puja vacations, but they should definitely be conducted,” Mohapatra said, adding polls had been postponed by a month during the 2008 floods.

Sambalpur University has announced that elections to various posts of the varsity’s students’ union would be held on September 22 and the process of filing nomination papers by aspirants began last Tuesday.

However, there were reports of campus tension after the candidature of an aspirant to the post of president was rejected. This led a group of students to close the gate of the administrative block of the university and stage a demonstration.

Normalcy was restored following the intervention of the university’s vice-chancellor.Earlier, elections had been called off at two premier city-based colleges — BJB (Autonmous) and Maharishi — in the wake of pre-poll violence. “Cancelling elections will not curb violence and it only exposes the inefficiency of the authorities. The situation can be brought under control if stern action is initiated against those who cause trouble,” said Sahu.

Mohapatra also agreed that the decision of cancelling elections at the two colleges was “not right”.