Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday said his government approved the resumption of students' union elections in colleges and universities across the state only after leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) assured him that the organisation would emerge victorious.
Majhi made the remarks while addressing a state-level conference of the ABVP, the student wing affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). More than 8,000 delegates attended the conference.
The Chief Minister's statement comes after colleges and universities across Odisha conducted students' union elections last month, ending an eight-year-long hiatus.
The elections were discontinued during the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, had promised in its election manifesto to restore campus polls in the state.
Following the BJP's victory and formation of the government in Odisha, the state witnessed the return of student union elections, providing students an opportunity to participate in campus-level democratic processes after a prolonged gap.
Majhi's remarks at the ABVP conference highlighted the organisation's confidence in its electoral prospects and its role in student politics in Odisha.
