Arts of politics

Updated on: Thursday, March 18, 2010

Kolkata: It was a whirwind election at Jadavpur University. “The Forum for Arts Students (FAS) is in the debris. They are no longer in power,” exclaims an ecstatic Souvik Lal Chowdhury.

Sweeping away three out of four posts in the panel which comprises the chairperson, general secretary, assistant general secretary and evening AGS, they have more than one reason to celebrate. The assistant general secretary post calls for a tie-breaker between FAS and SFI. The chairperson, GS and evening AGS, all belonging to the SFI won by 150, 125 and 110 votes respectively.

In a committee meeting later tonight a decision will be taken on whether there will be recounting or repolling for the same, confirms a source. SFI however denies any such report.

Sankalita Chakraborty of the International Relations department, a FAS activist, said minutes before the results were declared, “I’m keeping my fingers crossed. From having a 24*7 medical shop with an ambulance service to demanding a Girls Common Room and protesting the fee hike we have left no stone unturned to win the majority.”

Hours later the FAS, United Students’ Democartic Front (USDF) and Democratic Students’ Orgnanisation (DSO) supporters wore a defeated look having being vanquished by Students Federation of India (SFI). “I’m apprehensive to take sides. On the one hand I cannot bring myself to vote for the SFI. FAS has split and is supposedly a party of the moderates, purged of the extremists which now form the USDF. I’ve heard that Trinamool Congress will be fielding candidates for next year’s campus elections which will make things worse,” said one on conditions of anonymity. With many claiming that the elections have been fair and peaceful, one is left wondering if the results tell a different story.

Arts of politics

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