Bhubaneswar: Candidates backed by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) claimed victories in a majority of higher education institutions across Odisha in the student union elections held on Thursday.Preliminary reports suggested that the two outfits retained their strong presence on campuses, while National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Congress’s student wing, struggled to make its presence felt, failing to win in several institutions.A total of 1,398 candidates had been declared winners in 153 colleges till 6.45 pm on Thursday. Of the winners, 756 were elected unopposed, while 642 emerged victorious in the contest. Results from other colleges are awaited.The BJD-affiliated students’ outfit emerged victorious at Ravenshaw University in Cuttack too with its candidate, Biswajit Sahu, bagging the president’s post.ABVP secured president posts in Berhampur and Gangadhar Meher (GM) universities. While at Berhampur University, Kirtibanta Rana was elected president unopposed, Swadhin Acharya won the post in GM University where candidates were selected by students’ representatives.ABVP said its candidates also registered a landslide victory in all posts, including the president’s post, at Dharanidhar University. However, independent candidate Santosh Kumar Pundi was elected the student union president at Khallikote Unitary University.In the twin cities’ prominent colleges, the contest was largely between ABVP and BCJD, with independent candidates also making their mark.ABVP won the president’s posts in Bhubaneswar’s BJB College and Rajdhani College. Aryan Mohapatra was elected at BJB College, while Abinash Padhi secured the top post at Rajdhani College. The BJB College polls had been cancelled in 2017 following campus violence.In Cuttack, independent candidates clinched the president’s posts at Shailabala Women’s College and Christ College. Prangya Paramita Nayak won at Shailabala Women’s College, while Deepak Munde emerged victorious at Christ College.Polling in colleges across Cuttack and Bhubaneswar concluded peacefully, police commissioner S Devadatta Singh said. To maintain law and order, police deployed 18 platoons in Cuttack and 20 in Bhubaneswar. A few face-offs were reported from different locations, but police contained the situation, he said.Voter turnout across universities varied widely, with six of the 12 institutions recording participation of more than 60%, while three saw less than 35% of votes being cast.Madhusudan Law University topped the turnout chart at 78.87%, followed by Utkal University at 68.69% and Maa Manikeswari University at 67.24%. Dharanidhar University recorded a turnout of 65.77%, while Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University registered 64.03%. Berhampur University recorded the lowest turnout at 19.53%. Khallikote University reported 26%, while Rama Devi Women’s University saw just 30.27% of its electorate vote.
