SFI down and out this year too at Presidency

Express news service Posted: Mar 14, 2008 at 0224 hrs
Kolkata, March 13 The verdict is finally out. The Independent Consolidation (IC) and the Democratic Student's Organisation (DSO) together formed the general body in the panel election that lasted for more than seven hours.

But months of planning and campaigning did not bear fruits for the Student's Federation of India (SFI). If the IC forms the union this year, it would be their fifth consecutive win over SFI.

On Wednesday, the IC-DSO combine had defeated the SFI by a margin of two votes.

Though yesterday's union polls were more or less peaceful, emotions ran high at the Presidency College on Thursday during the panel election of the office-bearers from the constituency representatives.

The election started around 2: 45 pm, when all the 72 constituency representatives huddled into a room in the main building. Supporters of both parties waited in the college portico till about 10 pm. Sources said the delay was due to the fact that the SFI had nominated all its 35 constituency representatives for the general secretary's post, which led to minor scuffles in the panel room.

Sources said Arijeet Sarkar of Mathematics first year was the IC nominee for the post of general secretary of the students' union. DSO bagged the post of the vice-president and the Boys Common Room representative.

Besides the jubilant mood, supporters of both parties indulged in petty fights and hurled abuses at each other. As the elections went on, both party members alleged that some former students had somehow entered the college campus where no outsiders were allowed.

Some SFI supporters even had a heated argument with one of the professors.

IC supporters alleged that Hiya Mukherjee, daughter of minister Manbendra Mukherjee, and Saptarshi Deb, son of minister Gautam Deb, and other SFI members had mercilessly beaten up IC supporters near the portico of the college.