Bhubaneswar: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha of misusing the government machinery in an attempt to manipulate the student union elections in its favour.

The Naveen Patnaik-led party claimed that the ministers and MLAs of the ruling party were putting pressure on the candidates of Biju Chatra Janata Dal (BCJD), the student wing of BJD, to withdraw their nominations. 

“The BJP government has thrown the rules and regulations to the winds to manipulate the student union elections in its favour. The ruling party is misusing the government machinery to ensure the rejection of the nominations of BJD-supported candidates in the student union polls. The BJP government is openly violating the Lyngdoh Commission guidelines,” alleged BJD MLA Byomakesh Ray in a presser here today. 

Ray claimed that the government has either cancelled the elections or rejected the nomination papers of BCJD candidates in more than 50 colleges across Odisha where BJD student wing had strong chances of winning.

“BJP ministers and MLAs are pressurizing BCJD candidates to withdraw their nomination papers. Such incidents had never occurred during the BJD rule in Odisha. The ruling party is attempting to win elections by misusing government machinery and suppressing the democratic rights of students for political gains,” alleged the BJD legislator. 

Another BJD MLA, Sarada Prasanna Jena, alleged that the ruling party was using all means at its disposal to ensure favourable results in the student union polls. “Wherever ABVP candidates have little chance of winning, elections are being deliberately cancelled. The government has cancelled student union polls in 206 colleges across Odisha. The government machinery is being misused to secure electoral victories,” he said.

BCJD president Ipsita Sahu claimed that candidates of BJD student wing were elected unopposed at around 100 higher education institutions across the state. “Even, four BCJD candidates were elected unopposed at Dharanidhar University in Keonjhar,” she said.