Bhubaneswar, Oct. 3: The official notification for students' union elections was published today. The polls will be held on October 14.
Picture by Ashwinee Pati
Authorities of Ravenshaw University have decided to conduct the elections, despite the uncertainty following incidents of violence over the past few days.
Elections have been cancelled at the Utkal University, the Puri SCS College and a few other institutes following incidents of pre-poll violence. But, the Utkal University students approached chief minister Naveen Patnaik with a memorandum to seek permission for conducting polls on the campus. "We have requested the chief minister to re-look into the matter and order for elections in the varsity," said Amit Jena, a candidate.
Earlier in the day, the Marsaghai College in Kendrapara reported clashes among students, following which the authorities announced a sine die. The ruckus erupted over cancellation of the elections as a group of students went berserk demanding the polls.
At Bhadrak's Dhamnagar College, unrest escalated as two student groups clashed on the campus over the elections. A bomb was also hurled at an abandoned room in the college, while furniture and other equipment in the college office were ransacked.
In a message to the students, higher education minister Pradeep Panigrahi said: "Students' union elections should be considered as an intellectual poll, and peace must exist on the campus for the benefit of democracy. There should be brotherhood, understanding and positive energy."
Yesterday, students affiliated to various political parties met governor S.C. Jamir, requesting him to look into the matter. Students in most other colleges beefed up the campaigning, using WhatsApp and various other social networking sites.
According to the official notification, the candidates can file their nomination on October 5. The last date of nomination withdrawal is October 6. The "What I stand for" meeting will be held on October 13. On October 14, the voting will start in the morning and continue till 2pm. Votes will then be counted, and the results will be declared by the evening. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on October 15.
