{
  "id": 6561830,
  "title": "Student Polls To Return In Karnataka Colleges, Universities; Political Parties Barred",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/student-polls-to-return-in-karnataka-colleges-universities-political",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-10T07:58:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/education/student-polls-to-return-in-karnataka-colleges-universities-political-parties-barred"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bengaluru: Karnataka's Cabinet announced on Wednesday the return of student elections in colleges and universities, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara announced. Political parties will be barred from participating in these elections, he declared. Student elections had previously been held in colleges but were later prohibited. The Deputy CM explained that each college will have one student president, two vice-presidents (including a woman), one general secretary (with a woman), two joint secretaries (one woman), and an executive committee of six members (two women). No reservations will be granted in these elections to avoid caste-based student elections, the Deputy CM stated. Student organizations will decide on the election process, which is not mandatory. If students choose not to hold elections, the college management cannot impose them. A committee led by Minister Sharan Prakash Patil studied college and university options and proposed the decision. The main goal is to develop leadership skills in students, he added.\n\nPolitical parties are explicitly prohibited from engaging in these student elections. Student organizations and political parties will not participate; instead, students themselves will elect their representatives. The enrollment must be official, he emphasized. This policy will apply to colleges, universities, and not to schools. The Bharat Jodo Yuva Sangha (BJYS) has been launched but temporarily halted due to technical issues. The government aims to establish 10,000 youth clubs across villages, with a new form to be distributed by Tuesday. Currently, 7.36 lakh members have registered, falling short of the target of 10 lakh. Once the target is reached, the BJYS program will commence, according to Parameshwara.",
  "summary": "Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet on Wednesday decided to reintroduce students’ elections in universities and colleges, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said. Political parties will not be allowed to take part in these elections, he said. Student elections to return \"Student elections were earlier held in colleges but were subsequently banned. We have now decided to reintroduce…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}