Twenty-seven candidates are in the fray for the upcoming elections to the university students’ union of Calicut university on March 15.
University union councillors (UUC) elected from affiliated colleges are entitled to vote. According to sources, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the United Democratic Students’ Front (UDSF), comprising the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) and the Kerala Students Union, are the main contenders in most seats.
In the five general seats, there are 15 candidates. Twelve others are contesting for the post of five executive committee members from districts under the university’s jurisdiction. There are over 460 voters. In some seats there is a triangular contest.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Thursday is expected to consider a set of petitions filed by 26 UUCs from the UDSF, accusing the university authorities of tampering with the electoral roll and denying voting rights to them. MSF leaders are claiming that this was done at the behest of the SFI to help their candidates win the elections. Twenty-four of these UUCs belong to the MSF, and the rest are from the KSU. The court is reported to have sought details from these colleges.
The university officials, however, claimed that violations of election bylaws had been found in a majority of these self-financing colleges, most of which were in Malappuram district. Elections were not held in these institutions in a fair manner, and college managements were reported to have nominated the UUCs.
In one institution, from issuing notification for the elections and declaring results, everything reportedly was done in a day. There were complaints from students, and the university instituted an internal committee to examine them. Most allegations turned out to be true, an official said.
