KSU up in arms after visually challenged student wins by one vote, later SFI candidate emerges victorious

KSU up in arms after visually challenged student

Kochi, Nov 2 (IANS) The Congress and its students’ wing Kerala Students Union (KSU)are up in arms after what they allege was a planned back door operation that played spoilsport for its visually challenged chairman candidate at the Kerala Varma College in Trissur. He was declared the winner first, but later he found himself on the losing side as the SFI candidate was announced the winner.

Late on Wednesday after the votes was counted the KSU candidate S. Sreekuttan, a visually challenged student, was declared elected by a margin of one vote.

But as the KSU began celebrating as it was winning the post after four decades, things went awry.

The SFI student leaders demanded a recount and the KSU activists allege that this was the work of the CPI-M leadership. They suspect the role of the former acting principal of the college, the present higher education minister R. Bindhu.

“We said the recount should not be held in the night and it can be taken up on Thursday morning. But it was not accepted and the election authorities started the recount,” said Sreekuttan.

And as the recount of the nearly 1700 votes was on, the authorities took up a few votes from the first round of counting, declared them invalid and ruled in favour of the SFI.

The KSU activists said the power supply got affected twice and when the lights came back the SFI candidate was declared elected by a margin of 11 votes.

Condemning the act of manipulation led by the ruling CPI-M, state Congress president K. Sudhakaran said the party will extend all support to the KSU to take up this issue legally.

“It’s extremely sad and the teachers who performed this unholy act of not acting fairly to please the CPI-M, cannot be called teachers. It’s even sadder that the SFI students are being groomed in the wrong way by the CPI-M,” said Sudhakaran.

Reacting to the allegation against her, Bindhu said on Wednesday elections were held in numerous colleges under Calicut University and so, “ I was not able to follow what has happened and hence am unable to comment on this, unless I look into what has happened.”

Meanwhile KSU state president Alosiyous Xavier has announced that he will go on an indefinite hunger strike against the way the election was manipulated, while the KSU will take legal recourse demanding a fresh election.

–IANS

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