Cuttack, October 18: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday hailed the revival of campus democracy after nearly a decade alongside the ABVP’s electoral gains across the state, asserting that the student mandate reflected youth support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development vision.

Addressing the newly elected Students’ Union representatives at the Young Leaders’ Conclave-2026 at the Cuttack Indoor Stadium here, the Chief Minister said his government had placed its trust in the youth despite calls to delay the elections on the grounds that “Gen Z was upset.”

He criticised the previous regime for banning student elections in 2017 and alleged that its leaders had remained silent over the decision.

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“I reiterated that our decision to revive campus elections after nearly a decade was a triumph of democratic faith over fear. While the previous regime callously banned student polls in 2017 while their leaders, who once boasted of student activism, remained cowardly silent under their boss's diktat, and voices urged us to delay under the pretext that "Gen Z is upset," we placed our absolute trust in the youth, and they responded by delivering an entirely peaceful, disciplined, and decisive mandate,” Majhi wrote on ‘X’.

He said that the peaceful and disciplined polls reflected the confidence of young voters in the democratic process.

“Above all, mirroring the outcome at Delhi University, the historic victory of ABVP across Odisha firmly established that the youth stand resolutely behind Modi ji's vision of development,” said CM Majhi.

Emphasising the role of students in nation-building, Majhi said young leaders must contribute to creating a prosperous and developed Odisha through responsible leadership, service and constructive participation in campus life.

“I reminded these young leaders that winning is not a matter of arrogance, but the commencement of hard work and solemn responsibility. True leadership means serving fellow students, resolving their academic and hostel needs, taking an unyielding pledge to make campuses drug-free, and countering malicious narratives with positive engagement as true nation-builders for a prosperous, developed Odisha,” urged the CM.