Bengaluru: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar (DKS) has constituted a Committee of party leaders to study the process and modalities for conducting Student Union elections in the State and to submit a report.

It’s a significant development since the State Government is considering revoking a 36-year ban on student elections in the State’s educational institutions, which would revive campus politics in the Southern State.

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989 by the then Congress Government led by CM Veerendra Patil, reportedly in response to a series of violent incidents and clashes on college campuses.

D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister (Dy.CM), had spoken about the proposal during a Constitution Day event in November, stating that the reintroduction of Student Union elections would help create political leadership on campuses.

Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil has been appointed as the Convenor of the 9-Member Committee that the Dy.CM formed. The Panel also includes Higher Education Minister Dr. M.C. Sudhakar, besides MLAs, MLCs and State Presidents of Youth Congress & NSUI, the student wing of the Congress.

Shivakumar, who on several occasions recalled his own days as a student leader, stating that student politics played a key role in nurturing his political journey, said in a letter dated Dec. 27 that the Committee has been asked to submit its report within 15 days.