The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Sunday, 11 October 2026, accused Odisha Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik of deploying police machinery and anti-social elements to influence student union elections at colleges in Polasara, Buguda, Balipada, and surrounding areas of Ganjam district. The allegations come days ahead of the 15 October student union polls — the first such elections across Odisha colleges in eight years.

What the BJD Alleged

BJD General Secretary and former Minister Srikant Sahu, addressing a press conference at Sankha Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, alleged that Minister Mallik had used the local administration and anti-social elements to pressure candidates and their families into withdrawing nominations. According to Sahu, the minister acted after recognising that the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal held the strongest winning prospects at the colleges in question.

“After the announcement of the students’ union election schedule, Minister Gokulananda Mallik, realising that the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal had the strongest prospects of winning at Polasara, Buguda and Balipada colleges, used the local administration and anti-social elements to exert pressure on candidates and their families, compelling them to withdraw their nominations,” Sahu said.

He further alleged that even after incidents of violence, complaints lodged with the local police had yielded no action — pointing to what the BJD described as deliberate administrative inaction.

Political Barbs Over Naveen Patnaik

BJD spokesperson Tumbanath Panda widened the attack, condemning remarks made by Minister Mallik against former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Panda alleged the comments were an attempt to distract from the minister’s own failings. He credited Patnaik with elevating Odisha to a ‘model state’ on the global stage and argued that the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s two-and-a-half-year tenure had, in his view, brought repeated disrepute to the state through misgovernance.

“There is a competition among BJP leaders and ministers to remain in the limelight by making comments about Naveen Patnaik Babu. The people of the country and the state are well aware of Naveen Babu’s personality and his record of governance,” Panda alleged.

Panda also claimed that the people of Odisha were “already fed up” with the BJP’s governance and would deliver an ‘appropriate response’ in the days ahead — remarks widely read as setting up a political narrative ahead of the polls.

Context: First Campus Elections in Eight Years

The student union elections, scheduled for 15 October, are the first to be held across all Odisha colleges in eight years, making them politically significant beyond the campus level. Student bodies have historically served as the grassroots pipeline for both the BJD and the BJP in the state. A strong performance could reinforce either party’s claim to youth support in a state where the BJP only recently unseated the BJD after over two decades in power.

No Response From the Government

As of the time of reporting, neither Minister Gokulananda Mallik nor the BJP government had issued a formal response to the allegations. The claims made by the BJD remain unverified, and the party’s charges are based on its own account. Ganjam district administration officials have not been quoted in relation to these specific allegations.

With just days to go before polling, the campus election landscape in Odisha is set to remain closely watched — both as a student democracy moment and as an early political temperature check on the ground.