ABVP sweeps SFI stronghold in Kerala, winning all key posts.
Thiruvananthapuram: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has achieved great success in the student union elections of Government Sanskrit College, Tripunithura, Kerala. The ABVP ended the long-standing influence of the Students Federation of India (SFI) by winning all six key posts in the student union. The election results of this college, which has long been considered a strong center of leftist student politics, have started a new discussion in the campus politics of the state.
ABVP’s Snigdha M. Hari was elected chairperson in the election, while Aditya T.A. Won the post of Vice Chairperson. Vignesh Bhatt was elected General Secretary and Vignesh D. was elected Magazine Editor. Anjali T. Arts Club Secretary and Nivedya K. N. Won the post of University Union Councillor. Apart from this, Shivani R. Second UG Representative and Avani C.B. Elected second PG representative.
There appears to be variation in different media reports regarding the total number of seats won in the election. NDTV’s English report and Akashvani’s report mention ABVP winning six key posts, while some other reports, including NDTV Hindi, say the organization has won all 12 general seats. However, all major reports agree that ABVP gained control of the college union and SFI suffered a major setback this time.
SFI has been influential in Government Sanskrit College for a long time. Some media reports have put the influence of the leftist student organization here as more than four decades old. In such a situation, ABVP winning all the key posts is an important change from the organizational point of view. In the last student union elections also, ABVP had taken lead in the college and this time it further strengthened its performance.
After the election results, ABVP has presented this as the support received in its favor from the students. A representative of the organization claimed that the outcome was the students’ reaction against SFI’s alleged ‘anti-student policies’. This is the claim of ABVP. The organization has also accused the previous SFI led unions of not promoting Sanskrit enough, utilization of funds collected from students and student activities. SFI’s detailed response to these allegations has not figured prominently in the available reports.
ABVP has expressed hope that the success achieved in Tripunithura will also encourage its units active in other college campuses in Kerala. However, it would not be appropriate to consider the results of one college’s student union election as representative of the political inclinations of students across the state. Local issues on individual campuses, popularity of candidates, and college-level circumstances can influence election results.
The student union elections of Tripunithura are also in discussion because there has been a change of power in the municipality of the same area recently. According to reports, the BJP has taken charge of the Thripunithura municipality, ending the long-running Left-led rule in the local body. College and municipal elections are of different nature, hence both the results cannot be considered as direct indicators of each other.
The college election results have again brought the campus level competition between ABVP and SFI into limelight in Kerala. SFI has a strong organizational base in many universities and colleges in Kerala. On the other hand, ABVP has also been trying to increase its presence in the educational institutions of the state. The result of Tripunithura Sanskrit College is an important organizational achievement for ABVP in this competition.
This result has come at a time when political activities regarding student union elections are intense in other universities of the country. In the Delhi University Students Union Elections 2026 also, ABVP has won three out of four central posts—President, Secretary and Joint Secretary. Independent Dipanshu Shaukeen won the post of Vice President.
Thripunithura Government Sanskrit College result has now become a topic of discussion in the student politics of Kerala. ABVP winning all the key posts in the premises of SFI’s long influence is a clear organizational change at the local level. How both organizations fare in the upcoming college and university elections will help understand whether this change is limited to just one campus or if other campuses in the state also see similar competition.