In response to his involvement in the ‘recounting’ episode during a union election at Sree Kerala Varma College (SKVC) in Thrissur, Dr. MK Sudarsan, the president of Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB), has addressed the issue in a statement issued on Friday. He revealed, “I suggested to the principal-in-charge, Dr. TR Shobha, to recount the ballots late on Thursday night.”
Following the late-night recount, Sreekuttan S of Kerala Students’ Union (KSU), who initially secured a one-vote victory, was declared to have lost to Students Federation of India’s (SFI) KS Anirudhan by 11 votes. Dr. Shobha later disclosed that Sudarsan had intervened in the process. In his defense, Sudarsan stated, “it was not legal to stop the recounting according to the Calicut University Union Election Rules.”
Sudarsan explained that he was informed about the tense situation at the college by students, Devaswom officials, and others. He contacted Dr. Shobha, who informed him that the recount was halted due to a dispute after one contestant secured a majority of one vote for the post of chairman. Sudarsan claimed he spoke to the Returning Officer, who stated that the principal had stopped the recount without a written request, which he considered illegal. The CDB president maintained that the counting was completed in accordance with the rules and alleged a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation.
Sudarsan has yet to respond to repeated attempts to reach him on his official mobile.
Regarding the Calicut University Union Election Rules, they state: “The Returning Officer shall re-examine and recount the ballot papers of any candidate if requested in writing; provided such requests shall be made immediately after completion of the counting. The Returning Officer, at his discretion, can recount the votes when he is not satisfied with the accuracy of any previous count, provided nothing in these rules makes it obligatory to recount the same votes more than once.”
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