{
  "id": 159377,
  "title": "Student body polls to be held in Madhya Pradesh universities after nine years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/student-body-polls-to-be-held-in-madhya-pradesh-universities-after",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-05T04:20:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/madhya-pradesh/student-body-polls-to-be-held-in-madhya-pradesh-universities-after-nine-years/article71306334.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The State Government of Madhya Pradesh has announced that student body elections in colleges and universities will be held in September 2026, marking a nine-year hiatus since the last polls in 2017. This decision was made public on Monday, August 3, when the High Court was informed about the academic calendar for the 2026-27 academic session, which includes the schedule for student body polls. The High Court, hearing two petitions filed in 2024 and 2025, directed the State authorities and various public universities to conduct elections in every college in September 2026. The previous student union elections in Madhya Pradesh's higher education institutions were last held in 2017. Petitions filed in 2024 and 2025 argued that the absence of student unions has hindered democratic representation of students. The State Higher Education Minister, Inder Singh Parmar, acknowledged receiving the court's directions and is currently examining them. The Minister also revealed that his department is discussing the matter with the Chief Minister and a decision will be made soon.",
  "summary": "The government shared the academic calendar of 2026-27 with a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal in Jabalpur, in which student body polls are schedules for September",
  "key_points": [
    "Madhya Pradesh to hold student body polls in September 2026.",
    "Nine-year gap since last elections in 2017.",
    "Court directed State authorities to conduct elections in September 2026."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/159377.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "Madhya Pradesh air ambulances, launched in 2024, served 159 people, 32 had BJP links",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/madhya-pradesh-air-ambulances-launched-in-2024-served-159-people-32",
        "published": "2026-08-05T01:10:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}