Bhubaneswar: Students contesting the Odisha Student Union elections for 2026-27 will have to meet specific age and attendance requirements, while campaign spending will be capped at ₹5,000.
The Higher Education Department has issued guidelines for elections in colleges and universities under its jurisdiction. Students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate courses can contest and vote. However, distance education and PPP-mode self-financing students will be excluded. Students enrolled in self-financing courses through SAMS can participate.
Undergraduate candidates must be aged between 17 and 22 years, while the upper age limit for postgraduate candidates is 25. Candidates must have at least 75% classroom attendance, hold a valid SAMS ID, and have no criminal record.
Campaigns cannot include indecent remarks or false, misleading, manipulated or AI-generated fake content. Handmade posters are allowed, while processions and campus meetings will require prior permission. Non-students cannot participate in campaigning.
Campaigning must end 24 hours before polling, from 2 pm on October 14 to 2 pm on October 15.
Candidates must submit campaign expenditure certificates within two weeks of results. Election-related records will also be uploaded to the HIMS portal.
The polls will follow Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and state guidelines.