The Students Federation of India (SFI), which has controlled the students? union of the arts faculty of Jadavpur University (JU) for the past eight years, failed this time to win an absolute majority.

The SFI, CPM?s students? wing, bagged three of the four posts of office bearers on Thursday.

The other went to the Forum for Arts Students, an alliance of anti-CPM students? lobbies.

Since 1998, SFI has occupied all the four posts of office bearers of the arts faculty students? union ? general secretary, two assistant general secretaries and a vice-chairperson. This time the SFI lost the post of vice-chairperson.

Forum leaders attribute the sudden ?decline? in the SFI?s performance to the incident on June 10 last year, when in a late night operation, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee?s police force had evicted a group of engineering faculty students who were on a fast-unto-death.

?We cannot deny the fact that the June 10 incident had hurt the sentiments of many students. But one should not consider the development as an indication of the SFI?s downfall,? said Anirban Ghatak, SFI local committee president of the JU unit.

The JU arts faculty students? union had gradually become an SFI stronghold since 1998, although the engineering and science faculty students? bodies have been under anti-CPM students? lobbies for years. The polls for the engineering and science students? unions are scheduled next month.