Jadavpur University At Centre Of BJP-Left Tussle Over Campus Politics And Autonomy

Jadavpur University is emerging as a battleground in West Bengal, underscoring the BJP’s difficulty in making inroads into a campus associated with the Left. The BJP won the Jadavpur Assembly constituency in the 2026 election, yet the university remains outside the political influence of the BJP or Trinamool Congress. Demands for “neutral” campuses have raised concerns over attempts to suppress critical discourse. For decades, student politics at JU has been dominated by Left formations, including SFI, AISA and FETSU. The TMC has failed to establish a comparable foothold. That equation came under strain in August after clashes involving ABVP and Left-leaning groups, with allegations of outsider entry and vandalism. The confrontation centred on a FETSU meeting at Aurobindo Bhavan. The BJP has accused students and faculty of encouraging anti-national politics, citing graffiti and slogans concerning Palestine and Kashmir, invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s phrase “Dimagi Naxal”. Following its electoral success, the RSS has intensified efforts to reshape academic institutions. The campaign intensified on September 9, when chief minister Suvendu Adhikari led a saffron procession involving BJP workers and Naga sadhus towards JU. He warned that those raising “azadi” slogans would be “uprooted”. The government passed the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, allowing inter-university transfers. It says the measure can deploy experienced faculty to institutions including Jhargram and Cooch Behar. Teachers’ groups, including JUTA, have opposed it, arguing that it threatens university autonomy and could enable punitive transfers. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Sarbori Mukherjee has sought to rename JU after Sri Aurobindo. CPI(M) state secretary and JU alumnus Mohammad Salim criticised the proposal, alleging that the BJP’s objective is to extend RSS ideology across Bengal. He argued that, after JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Hyderabad University, JU was now being targeted to curb independent thinking among students.