Representatives of the Kerala Students Union owing allegiance to the ‘A’ faction of the Ernakulam District Congress Committee won the majority of positions in the organisational elections conducted here on Wednesday.
The polling, which started around 11 a.m, was marred by clashes between the warring factions and allegations of rigging. Aloysius Xavier of the ‘A’ faction was elected district president after he defeated Bhagyanath Nair of the ‘I’ faction by a margin of 13 votes. Members of the ‘I’ group alleged that Mr. Xavier won after the returning officer declared nearly 17 votes cast in favour of Mr. Nair invalid. The ‘A’ group denied the allegations. Of the four vice presidents, two belonged to the ‘A’ group while one each represented the ‘I’ faction and ‘A’ rebel group.
The ‘A’ and ‘I factions could manage to ensure the win of four each of its candidates in the election for the post of district general secretary while the ‘A’ faction enjoyed the majority in the polls for the secretary post after six of its candidates were elected while the remaining two posts were won by the ‘I’ faction.
The election had its own share of drama and action when the ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions fought in the open minutes before the close of the polling. The problem began after both the sides accused each other of trying to bring in activists whose names were missing from the voters list. The warring factions alleged that many of them had criminal antecedents. The two groups also blamed each other of trying to rig the elections. The police intervened to disperse the crowd. The activists later started throwing stones at the police personnel. The situation was brought under control in half an hour before the polling resumed.
