After a dramatic late-night recount of votes, KS Anirudhan, the Students Federation of India (SFI) candidate, emerged as the victor in the college chairperson elections at Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur. He defeated Kerala Students Union’s (KSU) Sreekuttan Sivadasan by a margin of 11 votes. The counting of votes began in the afternoon, but the official result was only declared after midnight due to the evening’s unfolding drama.
Initially, it was widely believed that Sreekuttan, a visually-impaired final-year political science student, had secured victory with 896 votes, marking KSU’s return to the chairman post after 41 years at Kerala Varma College, traditionally an SFI stronghold. Some Congress Party leaders visited the campus to congratulate Sreekuttan, while others expressed their support on social media.
However, the situation took a turn when SFI activists demanded a recount of the votes. Although KSU workers initially cooperated, they later alleged discrepancies, claiming that valid votes for Sreekuttan were wrongly deemed invalid.
According to KSU activists, “Over a dozen of votes that were declared invalid ones during the first counting were taken for recounting and many of those – favoring SFI – were considered valid.” They accused the returning officer of bias and raised concerns about the recounting process. The recounting was stopped, resumed, and then ultimately boycotted by KSU at 11.30 pm.
The campus was filled with Thrissur City Police and supporters of both SFI and KSU, and the recounting finally concluded by midnight. SFI’s Anirudh secured victory by 11 votes, with 900 votes, while Sreekuttan received 889 votes.
KSU’s college unit president, Akshay Vellarakkad, expressed their intention to challenge the election result legally, alleging SFI’s involvement in tilting the results in their favor. However, SFI activists dismissed these claims, asserting that the recounting was fair.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan expressed his support for Sreekuttan and KSU, deeming the election result a victory for democracy. He criticized the late-night recount and alleged power outages, claiming that SFI had manipulated the situation. Satheesan also raised concerns about teachers allegedly working in favor of SFI, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the integrity of a teacher’s role.
This college election and its aftermath will be remembered as a significant chapter in the history of Kerala Varma College, with Sreekuttan’s determination and KSU’s fight leaving a lasting impact. Satheesan offered his heartfelt greetings to KSU and encouraged them to keep up the fight, expressing solidarity with their cause.
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