Delay in getting Institute of Eminence tag for Jadavpur University will be one of the various campaign issues for Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the upcoming students’ union polls on 19 February. The student wing of the saffron outfit is leaving no stone unturned to gain a toehold in the university which has been a launching pad of several anti- CAA agitations one of which spilled over in the heckling of Union minister Babul Supriyo last year.

Accusing the Leftist student organisations of creating disturbances within the campus and distracting the students from real issues concerning them, ABVP said it will strive for better infrastructure facilities for the students if it is voted to power.

Speaking at a press conference here today, ABVP spokesperson and contestant for central panel Nikhil Das said, “So far the Leftist student bodies have only indulged in creating ruckus inside the campus on various external issues that do not concern general students. But we are fighting this poll solely on the demands of upgradation of infrastructure facilities which will benefit the common students. We want that the university attains Institute of Eminence tag which would ensure a huge amount of fund and substantial autonomy. We might launch a movement in this regard.”

Alleging that the Leftists have so far used the university campus to forward their anti-national activities, he further said, “They always focus on external issues like what happens in Jamia Milia Islamia or Jawaharlal Nehru University campuses but completely overlook the demands and problems that directly affect the students.

“But our agenda is about the needs of students such as hostel and library facilities, security of female students, renovation of the playground and installing sanitary napkin vending machines.” Replying to the invitation extended by SFI to the president of the students’ union of Jawaharlal Nehru University Aishe Ghosh, Das said that they have already intimated the university authority so that no outsider takes part in the campaigning as per the university rules.

The ABVP has fielded candidates for all nine central panel posts in Arts Faculty Students’ Union (AFSU) and Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU) as well as 140 class representatives’ posts.