Bhubaneswar: Student union elections in colleges and higher educational institutions across Odisha will be held on October 15, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj announced on Monday after a meeting with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

The announcement marks the revival of student union elections in the state after a prolonged gap. The previous BJD government had stopped the elections in 2018, citing various reasons, including Cyclone Titli, campus-related issues and later the Covid-19 pandemic. After coming to power in 2024, the BJP government had announced that student union elections would be revived.

According to the schedule, colleges will issue the official notification on October 7. Students can file their nominations on October 9 between 10 am and 1 pm.

The scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on the same day from 2 pm to 4 pm, while the list of valid nominations will be published at 5 pm on October 9.

Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations on October 10 between 10 am and 1 pm. The final candidate list will be published at 3 pm on October 10.

A meeting on “Why I Stand For” will be held on October 14, a day before polling.

Polling for the student union elections will take place on October 15 from 8 am to 2 pm.

Counting of votes and declaration of results will begin at 2 pm on the same day and continue until the counting process and announcement of results are completed.

The oath-taking ceremony for the newly elected student representatives has been scheduled for October 16 at 11 am.