After four years,SFI sweeps Jadavpur polls

It was in 2006 that the SFI had won elections in the university. Jubilant over its win,SFI supporters smeared their faces in red aabir and organised a rally on the university campus that culminated at the Arts faculty Union room.

Interestingly,the United Students Democratic Front (USDF),the group that split from the FAS in January 2010,failed to create any ripples with their pro-Maoist agenda.

The faction had openly campaigned in support of Maoists’ cause and demanded the release of Chhatradhar Mahato and withdrawal of Operation Green Hunt. Of a total of over 100 class representative seats in the university,the USDF won only two.

“We formed the union in January. We are satisfied with the results we have got in the brief period,” said Lokeshwari Dasgupta,a USDF leader. “It is a pro-Left and anti-Trinamool verdict given by the students. We want to send a message to Mamata Banerjee that Trinamool should

set up its own student wing and contest SFI and not bank on pseudo unions,” said Soumo Bhattacharya,an SFI leader.

“The elections have proven that students of the state are with the SFI. In the last few years,FAS has done nothing for students of the university,” said Oindrilla Chakraborty.

Students said that while the SFI took up a number of campaigns in the last one year,FAS has remained inactive and could not bring important political issues to the fore. The split in the FAS is also being seen as a major reason for weakening its support base in the university.

SFI wins and losses SFI retained its unions in
Presidency College,Asutosh College and Scottish Church College. It also wrested control of the JU Arts Faculty. Its only debacle in the city was Moulana Azad College. In East and West Midnapore,Howrah,Hooghly,Murshidabad,Purulia and Bankuram, the SFI has seen a fall. In the rural belts,the union has retained control in 30 colleges. Across the state,SFI has won 212 out of 353 unions.