Amit Shah Calls ABVP’s Odisha Poll Win a ‘Stern Response’
Home Minister says campus election results reflect youth support for ‘Nation First’ ideology as ABVP and opposition-backed student groups claim victories across universities.
- Amit Shah praises ABVP’s Odisha election performance
- ABVP claims victories in eight state universities
- BCJD reports gains across colleges and women’s institutions
- Student polls draw competing claims from rival groups
GG News Bureau
Bhubaneswar/Odisha, 17th Oct: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday described the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) performance in Odisha’s student union elections as a “stern response to anti-national forces”, saying the results reflected the youth’s support for the ‘Nation First’ ideology.
The elections, held on October 15, saw the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated ABVP claim victories across eight of Odisha’s 13 state universities, along with wins in several colleges. Shah congratulated the organisation’s newly elected office-bearers and said the results followed its electoral successes at Panjab University and Delhi University.
In a post on X, Shah said the results conveyed that young people were aligned with the ‘Nation First’ ideology rather than forces that, according to him, spread falsehoods, confusion and disorder. He described the outcome as a stern response to anti-national forces, in an apparent reference to the ongoing agitation against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Although student union elections in Odisha are not formally conducted on party lines, political parties support candidates through their affiliated student organisations. The ruling BJP backed ABVP candidates, while the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supported candidates from the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD). The Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) also contested the polls.
ABVP Claims Multiple University Wins
Odisha ABVP said its candidates won eight president, eight vice-president, 10 secretary and 11 assistant general secretary posts across the state’s universities.
ABVP state secretary Diptimayee Pratihari claimed that the organisation swept the entire panel at Utkal University and won all posts except the president’s position at Ravenshaw University.
The BCJD also reported significant gains. Its candidates won the presidents’ posts in five universities and the general secretary’s post in one university, according to the figures cited by the organisation. NSUI secured the general secretary’s post in one university.
BCJD Disputes Claims of ABVP Dominance
BCJD president Ipsita Sahoo said her organisation had won around 55–60% of college union elections across Odisha, including at prominent institutions such as Rama Devi Women’s University and Ravenshaw University.
Sahoo also claimed that BJD-backed candidates had secured victories in most women’s colleges across the state, presenting a different picture of the overall results.
The competing claims underline the political significance of the campus elections, which have drawn attention from major parties as they seek to strengthen their engagement with young voters in Odisha.
