DSU polls in Calicut varsity: UDSF candidates approach Chancellor

Candidates of the United Democratic Students’ Front (UDSF), a coalition of the Kerala Students’ Union and the Muslim Students’ Federation, have submitted a petition to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who is also the Chancellor of the University of Calicut, seeking steps for a peaceful conduct of the departmental students’ union (DSU) election on the main campus.

The election held earlier this month was cancelled by the Vice-Chancellor following allegations of lapses in the polling process. The High Court recently asked the authorities to conduct it by October 31. In the petition, the UDSF candidates claimed that neither the police nor the authorities were taking any action against Students Federation of India (SFI) activists who had “unleashed violence” when the election was held earlier. Also, UDSF activists were being threatened by both the police and the SFI functionaries, they alleged. Urging the Chancellor to direct the police to register cases against the real perpetrators of violence, the UDSF candidates said that fresh elections should be held only after restoring peace on the campus.