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Published : 06 Jan 2026, 01:22 PM
Nearly two decades after starting its journey as a university, the first election to the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) is under way amid a festive atmosphere.
Polling began at 9am time on Tuesday at 178 booths across 39 centres in five university buildings and is scheduled to continue uninterrupted until 3pm.
Despite cold weather, students from different parts of the city have been arriving to cast their ballots. Many first-time voters said they were enthusiastic about taking part in the election.
On the same day, elections are also being held for the Nawab Faizunnesa Chowdhurani Hall Council, the university’s only residential hall.
Voting started 50 minutes late in two rooms of the Bazlur Rahman Auditorium in the Department of Bengali.
Assistant Prof Asadullahil Galib of the Bengali Department told bdnews24.com, “Two rooms were allocated for the Bangla Department. However, initially, equipment was provided for only one room. After the authorities informed, it took some time to bring in the necessary equipment and start voting.”
Although there was a strong turnout at polling centres at the beginning, the crowd thinned significantly after 11am.
Early in the morning, history student Ankita Saha came to cast her vote. “This is my first vote at Jagannath University, so excitement is natural. Whoever takes responsibility through a fair election will be welcomed by the students.”
Students said casting their first vote on campus felt like a dream. Some also hoped that the candidates would respect and honour their votes.
Student Susmita Ghosh Happy told bdnews24.com, “I’m very happy to be able to cast my first vote on campus.”
Another student, Rizia Jannati, said: “We are delighted to cast our first-ever vote at the university. We memorised the ballot numbers at home, and today we voted accordingly. We hope the candidates will work in line with their election manifestos.”
The election was originally scheduled for Dec 30, but it was postponed by a week due to the death of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Referring to that, student Najiat Zaman said: “The vote was supposed to be held on the 30th, but we couldn’t vote that day. We thought the excitement would be gone. But today, after coming to vote, we see that students are very enthusiastic. It feels really good to vote.”
Through the election, the central council will be formed for a one-year term with the votes of 16,645 students. As many as 157 candidates including four panels and independent aspirants are vying for 21 posts of JnUCSU.
Chief Election Commissioner Prof Mostafa Hasan said the vote counting would be broadcast live using six OMR machines after voting ended.
