SFI retains its bastions

Thiruvananthapuram: The SFI has retained its hold in all colleges except one in Thiruvananthapuram in the college union elections conducted on Tuesday. It was defeated in Iqbal College, Peringammala, where an alliance of KSU, Campus Front and Muslim Students Federation won.

Among the 30 colleges it won is St Xavier's College, known to be a KSU bastion. It also captured AJ College of Science and Technology, Thonnakkal, where AISF had previously reigned supreme. The chairpersons of Government Women's College, University College and Mar Ivanios College are SFI's Aswathy Raj, Amal Muhammad and Anand Yasodharan respectively.

The SFI captured all 12 colleges in Alappuzha and all three in Pathanamthitta. In Kollam, it won 17 of 18 colleges. Its win indicates that the student community has chosen progressive politics, said SFI state secretary K.M. Sachin Dev. "Many forces consciously brought the debate on Sabarimala verdict to college campuses in an effort to build a campaign against the SFI. However, the results show that students have strongly stood with renaissance and progressive movements. This is a time when part of society outside the campuses has taken to the streets upholding a primitive point of view. The win signals how the young generation has stood with progressive modern movements," he said.

The SFI has won NSS College, Pandalam, with a huge majority, though the Sabarimala issue was being debated outside the campus with BJP support, he said.

The SFI's win in the capital is significant especially as the majority of college students are women, said SFI Thiruvananthapuram secretary Sijith Sivas. "At a time of communal polarisation, students have chosen SFI's politics. There have been many factors which led to these results, including the martyrdom of Abhimanyu," he said.

At Government Women's College, the victory was not without a fight. There was a recount after AISF was close to the SFI in three seats. Eventually, AISF's Soniya George won the magazine editor's seat. The SFI won the other two posts-that of University Union Council and the second year representative-by just three votes.Their strategy was to field very strong, intelligent candidates, said AISF state committee member Trupti S. Raj. "There was a sentiment against SFI's reckless reign. We chose candidates with care," she said.

Clashes at Mar Ivanios college

Several students and police personnel were injured in clashes at Mar Ivanios College here in connection with college union election. The college management declared a holiday on Wednesday in view of the tension.

According to police, the tension broke out after SFI activists who carried out a victory procession barged into the college hostel, where many KSU workers were present. Subsequently the police opened lathicharge. The students also pelted stones at the police.