Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17 -- The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claimed victory in eight of the 13 state universities in the student union elections held in Odisha, with the organisation's state secretary, Diptimayee Pratihari, saying it had also won in over 200 colleges and institutions, according to data available so far.

Celebrating the results, ABVP students distributed sweets and thanked the Odisha government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, for fulfilling its manifesto promise to hold student union elections after an eight-year gap.

Pratihari said, "The entire electoral process-from filing nominations and identifying candidates to holding 'meet-the-candidate' sessions and the final voting-was conducted in a well-or...