MSF’s woman candidate wins Calicut University students’ union chair in historic first

Malappuram: For the first time in its history, the University of Calicut has a woman chairperson from the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the student wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). P K Shifana, a fifth-semester History undergraduate at Kodungallur Kunjikuttan Thampuran Memorial (KKTM) Government College in Thrissur, was elected chairperson on Saturday, July 26.

Shifana takes over from KSU’s Nithin Fathima of Victoria College, Palakkad. Traditionally, the chairperson’s post is contested by the Congress-affiliated Kerala Students Union (KSU) as part of the MSF-KSU alliance. But after Fathima’s win last year, the allies decided the seat would go to MSF this time, Shifana said. 

The last time MSF even contested the post was in 1980, when T V P Khasim Sahib was elected chairperson under an SFI-MSF alliance -- 45 years ago.

Shifana, who hails from Kondotty in Malappuram, joined KKTM college in 2023, when MSF was only one year old on the campus. “I became active in politics from day one,” she said.

In her first year, she unsuccessfully contested for the post of magazine editor. The following year, she ran for University Union Councillor (UUC), taking on candidates from SFI, ABVP, KSU, and Fraternity. “In my campus, there is no MSF-KSU alliance,” she said.

Despite that, she won the UUC post with a margin of about 300 votes. "The SFI candidate enjoyed considerable influence on the campus because he was in the fourth year," she said. An executive member of Haritha, the women’s wing of MSF, she also helped the party secure the PG and Botany representative seats in the college. Her win -- not only in a government college but also in Thrissur district -- caught the attention of MSF’s state leadership.

When it came time to pick candidates for the union polls, MSF asked her to file nominations for all five general seats. “I did,” she said. “On the date of withdrawal, I was handed a bunch of withdrawal papers to submit to the university. I didn’t check them. Only when the university published the final list did I realise I was the chairperson candidate.”

She campaigned hard. The alliance was confident of a win. “I didn’t even go to the counting centre,” she said. “So I didn’t experience the tension.”

She went on to win by a margin of 92 votes -- more than double that of her predecessor, Nithin Fathima, who won by 40 votes.

Swahib Muhammed, General Secretary of MSF Kozhikode District and a former Senate member of the University of Calicut, said the party’s decision to field a woman was “not a symbolic gesture, but a timely and necessary move.”

“Today, 75 per cent to 80 per cent of students in colleges and universities are women. They are making remarkable strides in academics and leadership,” he said.

He added that IUML veteran CH Muhammed Koya had once led the push to increase female enrolment by setting up colleges and scholarships. “Calicut University itself was founded by CH. So, having a female MSF leader at its helm is not just apt, it is also deeply meaningful,” he said.

The MSF-KSU alliance swept all five general seats. MSF’s Sufiyan Villan was elected General Secretary. A C Mohammed Irfan and Nafia Bira were elected Vice Chairman and Lady Vice Chairperson, respectively, while KSU’s Anusha Roby became Joint Secretary.