After three decades of long wait, the Kerala Students Union (KSU) - the student wing of the Indian National Congress in the state, has won the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) students’ union elections. The election result declared on Friday, December 13, marked the end of 30 years of domination of the Student Federation of India (SFI) – the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)].
KSU secured 13 out of 15 general seats in the election, contesting without any alliance with other student unions. On the other hand, the SFI could only manage to secure two sets. Last year, KSU could only secure two sets while the SFI claimed 13.
Following the victory, Kurien Biju, who was elected as the Chairperson, told the media that students ended the violent politics of SFI by standing with KSU, and this day will be written in the history of Cusat. “This victory is the result of the hard work of the KSU members. Also, I need to extend my thanks to the students at the university,” he added.
SFI’s two seats include that of Vice Chairperson and Joint Secretary.
Apart from the Chairperson, the other elected representatives include Vice Chairperson Naveen Mathew (KSU) and Ashna Jalal (SFI), General Secretary Archa SB and Joint Secretary – Mohammad Rashis and Shahana (SFI).
Following the victory, the senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala congratulated the KSU leaders and said the youngsters rejected the violent politics and chose friendship and peace.