K.M. Ashwanth was elected Chairman, K. Ashwanth as General Secretary, M.P. Smeja as Councillor, P. Shivadath as Magazine Editor, C. Athul as General Captain, and A. Anand as Fine Arts Secretary.
ABVP leaders said that students on the campus unitedly chose ABVP after rejecting other student organisations due to the anti-student stance pursued by groups, including the SFI. They alleged that, following this, SFI–CPM criminals came to the college and threatened students and teachers. However, the students ignored the intimidation and went ahead with their decision to elect ABVP.
It is to be recalled that the Peravoor–Kannavam region carries a grim history of political violence against ABVP activists. This is the same area where ABVP worker Shyama Prasad was brutally hacked to death in 2018 by SDPI activists. Shyama Prasad, who was a student of Kakkayangad ITI and also served as the mukhya sikshak of the RSS shakha at 17th Mile in Kannavam, was murdered on the evening of January 19, 2018, under the limits of the Peravoor police station.
According to police, a gang waylaid Shyama Prasad at Kommeri near Kannavam while he was returning home from the ITI. When attacked, he attempted to flee and ran into a nearby house seeking refuge, but found the door locked. The assailants then chased him down and hacked him to death on the veranda of the house.
Police later arrested four SDPI activists, Parakkandam native Muhammed, Minikkol Salim, Neeveli Ameer, and Palayod native Shahim, in connection with the murder. The accused had reportedly fled to Wayanad immediately after the killing and were later brought back to Peravoor, where the case was registered.
Following the murder, the BJP alleged the involvement of Islamic-jehadi extremists and called for strong action, observing a 12-hour hartal in Kannur district as a mark of protest. Shyama Prasad’s funeral was held after his body was taken from Pariyaram Medical College post-mortem, with large numbers of people paying their last respects at multiple locations before the final rites at his native place.
ABVP leaders said the students’ unopposed mandate in the present election reflects a conscious rejection of intimidation politics in a region that has witnessed extreme violence in the past, and described the victory as a reaffirmation of democratic courage by the campus community.
