The revival of university Senates has added a fresh dimension to Odisha’s prolonged debate over students’ union elections, with the amended university law providing for elected student leaders to be part of the Senate even as campuses remain without regular union polls.The Odisha Universities (Amendment) Act, 2024, which came into force in April 2025, restored the Senate after the previous BJD govt abolished it in 2020, arguing that the body had become ‘ornamental’.The Senate is a key university authority dealing with academics, research, resources, accounts and financial management, among other matters. Significantly, the amended law provides for the president and secretary of the university students’ union to be Senate members.In the absence of elected unions, however, universities have had to find alternatives. A vice-chancellor of a state public university said two students are currently selected from PG departments on merit and included as Senate members. “But that leaves them with little role to play in the functioning of the Senate,” he said.At the same time, universities remain wary of the violence and disruption historically associated with direct polls. Utkal University, Ravenshaw University and other campuses have witnessed election-related unrest in the past. Academics have consequently suggested alternative models, including indirect elections, to retain student representation while reducing the scope for violence and outside political interference.With the govt yet to announce a schedule, student organisations are preparing to step up pressure. BCJD president Ipsita Sahu said the organisation was planning district-wise agitations and would gherao the higher education minister’s residence and the assembly if the govt continued to delay the elections.ABVP member Bishwajit Patra said the organisation had consistently demanded restoration of student polls and had also filed a PIL in the Orissa high court. NSUI too has indicated plans to intensify its agitation over the delay.