Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s recent nomination of 18 persons, a majority of whom are opposed to the ruling CPI(M), to the Senate of the University of Calicut could lead to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, or someone close to that party, getting elected to the Syndicate for the first time. Petitions have already been filed in the Kerala High Court against these nominations too.
Members of the Syndicate, the chief executive body of the university, are elected from among the over 100 members of the Senate. Though the university had completed the election process to the Senate by June 30, Syndicate polls were delayed, mainly due to the Governor not clearing his nominees.
The University of Calicut never has had a BJP member nominated to the Senate in its 55 years of history. None from that party has so far been elected to the Syndicate either, though people such as incumbent Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai have been earlier elected to the Senate.
