Bhubaneswar, October 5: The Odisha Higher Education Department has announced the schedule for conducting elections to Students’ Unions and other student societies and associations in state public universities and government and non-government aided degree colleges for the 2026-27 academic session.
According to a government communication dated October 5, the official notification regarding the election deadline will be issued on October 7. The election process will then proceed through nomination filing, scrutiny and withdrawal before polling.
Official notification: October 7
Nomination filing: October 9, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Scrutiny of nominations: October 9, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Publication of valid nominations: October 9, 5:00 pm
Withdrawal of nominations: October 10, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Final candidate list: October 10, 3:00 pm
‘Why I Stand For’ meeting: October 14
Polling: October 15, 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Counting and result declaration: October 15, from 2:00 pm until completion
Oath-taking ceremony/reserved day: October 16, 11:00 am
As per the guidelines, undergraduate students pursuing three-year degree programmes must be between 17 and 22 years of age, while postgraduate students can contest up to the maximum age of 25 years as on the date of notification.
Candidates must have no academic arrears in the year of contesting and must have at least 75% classroom attendance. A candidate can contest for an office-bearer post once and for an executive member post twice.
Students enrolled through distance education or under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode are not eligible to contest. The guidelines also require candidates to have no previous criminal record or pending disciplinary proceedings.
The maximum permitted election expenditure is Rs 5,000 per candidate. Candidates must submit their election expenditure accounts within two weeks of result declaration.
The guidelines prohibit the use of political-party funds, caste or communal appeals, abusive or defamatory content, and AI-generated fake or manipulated content during campaigning. Printed posters and pamphlets are also prohibited, while only handmade posters may be used at designated campus locations.
The guidelines further state that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including relevant provisions concerning elections, will apply wherever applicable to student elections.
