At Utkal University and Kamala Nehru College in Odisha, the ruling party Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student group affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), conducted a signature drive demanding student elections. 

It may be noted that the ruling party in the state, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had informed that student polls will be happening this year, stated a report by The New Indian Express. 

Citing the fact that student elections haven't been held in the state since the year 2018, the members of the student group encouraged fellow students to join their cause, stated a report by The New Indian Express. 

Arijeet Pattanaik, State General Secretary, ABVP said that the signature campaign will soon spread across various campuses of Odisha. He also said that since there are no student bodies, issues on college campuses are in a state of neglect. 

Senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati blamed the delay in elections on the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government and vowed that the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) will launch protests if elections are not held.

The matter of conducting student union elections has flared up in Odisha before as well. On campuses of the state, elections have not been held since the year 2018.