The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led state government, accusing it of “murdering democracy” by manipulating the upcoming student union elections across Odisha.
In a press conference held at Sankha Bhavan on Friday, senior BJD leaders alleged that the state apparatus is being blatantly misused to secure victories for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
Addressing the media, BJD Senior General Secretary Bhrugu Buxipatra, Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) President Chinmaya Kumar Sahoo, and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) President Ipsita Sahoo fiercely condemned the government’s interference in campus politics.
Buxipatra alleged that BJP ministers and MLAs are directly pressuring college principals and university vice-chancellors to favor ABVP candidates. He pointed out that elections have been deliberately halted in over 200 colleges and three universities where the ABVP fears an impending defeat. Furthermore, he claimed that ABVP-backed non-students are orchestrating bomb threats and violence—allegedly with police complicity—to force the cancellation of elections in specific institutions.
BYJD President Chinmaya Kumar Sahoo criticised the hurried announcement of the polls. He noted that the elections were declared without prior mention in the academic calendar and while admission processes were still ongoing. Sahoo accused the government of violating Lyngdoh Commission guidelines while pretending to uphold them, challenging the Higher Education Minister to explain the arbitrary cancellation of polls in 206 colleges.
Echoing these sentiments, BCJD President Ipsita Sahoo termed the BJP an “anti-GenZ” party that is trying to suppress the democratic rights of the youth. She highlighted a glaring irregularity at Rama Devi Women’s University, where a backdated notice introducing new, restrictive election rules was mysteriously issued at 4:25 PM—right after candidates had filed their nomination papers. This, she argued, was a calculated move to reject the nominations of non-ABVP student leaders.
Warning the state government of severe consequences, the BJD leaders threatened to take to the streets and halt the entire election process if these biased, undemocratic practices and last-minute rule changes are not immediately rectified.
