In a first, ABVP fields candidates for Jadavpur University

In a first, the RSS-affiliated ABVP has fielded candidates for the February 9 students' union polls in Jadavpur University, known to be a hotbed of Left- wing politics.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has fielded candidates for the central panels of the Engineering and the Arts faculties, said its joint secretary Shyamasree Karmakar.

The central panels have two chairpersons, two general secretaries and four assistant general secretaries.

The ABVP has also fielded candidates for the posts of class representatives. The right-wing outfit and the CPI(M)- backed SFI are fighting each other for 40 seats in the Arts faculty, and a similar number of seats in the Engineering.

"Jadavpur University doesn't mean Left citadel. There has been a rise of nationalist forces in the varsity and we are hopeful of doing very well," said Suvadeep Karmakar, chairperson of the ABVP's Arts department unit in the JU.

"The general students are peeved with the disruptive policies of gherao and demonstrations by the Left-leaning students and anti-national slogans raised during agitations and are looking for a change," he added.

The Students' Federation of India (SFI), however, exuded confidence about winning the polls.

"Right-wing forces will not be able to make inroads in the liberal space of JU any time," said SFI leader Debraj Debnath.

He claimed the spontaneous participation of general students in several anti-CAA protests on the campus showed that the ABVP has no place in the varsity.

The AISA and the Trinamool Chatra Parishad (TMCP) are also fighting the polls that will be held in the JU after a gap of three years.