33 years after last campus vote, Maharashtra moves to revive student elections

Students in Maharashtra last took part in a campus election in 1993. Thirty-three years later, the state government has taken a fresh step towards bringing back student elections, setting up a 12-member committee to examine how campus polls can be held across higher education institutions.

The Higher and Technical Education Department issued a Government Resolution (GR) on Thursday appointing the committee, headed by former Mumbai University Vice-Chancellor Prof Suhas Pednekar. It has been given a month to submit its report.

The committee will consult stakeholders and recommend measures for peaceful, transparent and inclusive elections, with safeguards against external political interference and commercialisation of the process. It will also examine the management and audit of student council funds, orientation and training of elected representatives, and the use of digital systems for nominations, scrutiny and grievance redressal.

Representation will also be examined, including mechanisms for women, students from all reserved categories and those involved in the National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), sports and cultural activities.

The committee comprises former vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors, principals, a senior law officer and university officials. Maharashtra’s student elections were banned in the early 1990s following a series of incidents of campus violence, including the 1989 killing of NSUI student leader Owen D’Souza outside a Mumbai college during campaigning.

The Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994, subsequently barred direct, competitive student elections, bringing an end to a system that had allowed students to elect their representatives on campuses. The first formal attempt to revive student elections came in 2016, when the Maharashtra Public Universities Act provided for elected Students’ Councils in universities, colleges and departments.

Detailed rules were framed in 2018, and universities prepared to hold elections in 2019. The state cabinet, however, deferred the polls citing law-and-order concerns and their proximity to the Assembly elections. The elections were never held.

The issue remained dormant through the Covid-19 pandemic. It returned to focus after the recent Gen Z protests, which saw significant participation by young people across Maharashtra. The Indian Express reported in August on the renewed demand for student elections, as youth and student organisations stepped up membership drives after the protests.

The latest move is therefore the first formal exercise towards revival since the 2019 postponement. The committee has now been tasked to address concerns that have kept elections suspended while also working out a system that can bring them back without external political interference.

Pallavi Smart is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, Mumbai Bureau. Her reporting is singularly focused on the education sector, demonstrating exceptional Expertise and Authority across the entire spectrum of learning, from foundational schooling to advanced higher education.

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