Activists hurl stones towards Kerala University Senate House Campus in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday during a clash that broke out between the Students Federation of India and Kerala Students Union workers.
The capital city turned into a battleground on Thursday as a scuffle between the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Kerala Students Union (KSU) activists during Kerala University senate and university union elections descended into chaos and street violence.
The confrontation, which began inside the university headquarters on the Senate House campus, soon spilled onto the adjoining streets and even extended near the MLA Hostel. Stones were hurled by the SFI activists from within the university, while the KSU members retaliated from outside. Nearly 15 protesters were injured, prompting the police to resort to a lathi charge to disperse the mob. A few activists were also injured following a related clash near Mar Ivanios College.
Flashpoint
Tensions reportedly flared around 5.45 p.m. as vote-counting results began trickling in. The flashpoint was allegedly the victory celebrations taken out by the rival groups, leading to aggressive retaliation from either sides. Both student factions accused each other, and the police, of violence and provocation.
The scenes bore a striking resemblance to last September’s university senate election violence, though this time, the unrest breached campus walls and disrupted the city’s arterial traffic for over an hour. The traffic police were forced to manually regulate vehicle movement amid the chaos.
With rocks flying and injuries mounting, the police initially struggled to contain the violence but later managed to disperse the crowds with reinforcements. Both groups have lodged complaints accusing the police of excessive force.
The SFI emerged dominant in the university union elections as it secured key positions across the board. The SFI candidates won the posts of chairperson, general secretary and both joint secretary positions. They also bagged two out of three vice-chairperson seats, while the KSU claimed one.
Similar trend
In the executive committee, the SFI secured 11 seats against the KSU’s four. The accounts committee saw a similar trend as four seats went to the SFI and one to the KSU. In the students council, the SFI bagged seven seats, while the KSU managed to win three seats.
Vote counting for the Kerala University senate continued late into the evening. As per preliminary results, the KSU secured two seats, while the results for the remaining positions are yet to be announced.
Published – April 10, 2025 09:52 pm IST