Bhubaneswar, Oct 9: The nomination process for student union elections in colleges and universities under Odisha’s Higher Education Department concluded on Thursday, with a total of 8,325 nominations filed across 348 colleges.

The elections are scheduled to be held on October 15.

Following the completion of the nomination process, scrutiny of nomination papers was conducted to determine the eligibility of candidates. Of the 8,325 nominations received, 1,156 were rejected, while 7,169 candidates were declared valid and eligible to contest the elections, said official sources.

According to the election data, 1,620 candidates at the college level have already been elected uncontested. Similarly, 33 candidates at the university level have secured uncontested victories, as they faced no opposition for their respective positions.

Among the valid candidates, 1,149 are contesting for the post of president, while 758 candidates are in the fray for the post of general secretary. The vice-president’s post has attracted 869 valid candidates. Meanwhile, 46 candidates have been found eligible to contest for the post of assistant secretary, sources added.

With the scrutiny process completed, the focus now shifts to the upcoming elections on October 15.

Meanwhile, student unrest was witnessed at several colleges and universities after nomination of several candidates was found invalid.