Archive · 22 Aug 2026
Jadavpur MLA Distances BJP From ABVP After Campus Violence
A fight happened around Jadavpur University between different student groups.
Sarbori Mukherjee, a BJP legislator, had appeared near a protest and made a threatening statement.
Later, she said she had not entered the university and had only joined a peaceful gathering nearby.
She also said the BJP was not connected to ABVP, a student organization linked to the RSS.
Mukherjee blamed people she described as Trinamool workers for trying to damage the BJP’s reputation.
She asked her own supporters not to attack offices or engage in illegal activities.
Other BJP leaders said professional politicians should not take over student protests.
They also disagreed about whether damage to the university emblem was deliberate.
The disagreement has exposed differences within the BJP over the campus violence.
BJP MLA Sarbori Mukherjee warned against people allegedly using the party to create unrest at Jadavpur University.
Mukherjee denied entering the university campus and said she had only attended a peaceful assembly near Jadavpur police station.
She said the BJP was not associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or its programmes.
BJP leaders criticized the involvement of professional politicians and differed over whether the university emblem was desecrated.
The dispute comes as the West Bengal government faces concerns over welfare-grant distribution and alleged extortion by some BJP members.
- Who
- BJP MLA Sarbori Mukherjee, ABVP and Left student groups, and other BJP leaders including Swapan Dasgupta and Abhijit Ganguly.
- What
- A political dispute followed violence at Jadavpur University, with Mukherjee changing her public position and distancing the BJP from ABVP.
- When
- The clarification came late Friday, two nights after Mukherjee appeared near the university-related protest on Wednesday night.
- Where
- Around Jadavpur University and the Jadavpur police station area in West Bengal.
- Why
- Mukherjee said unidentified people were using the BJP’s name to create disturbance and malign the party; BJP leaders also raised concerns about political interference in student protests.
Mukherjee and Supporters’ Account
Critics and Other BJP Leaders’ Concerns
Mukherjee’s presence
Mukherjee and Supporters’ Account
Mukherjee said she was not at the university and had only accompanied BJP youths at a peaceful gathering near the police station.
Critics and Other BJP Leaders’ Concerns
Her political rivals questioned why the Jadavpur MLA was involved in events around a university located in the neighbouring Kasba constituency.
BJP and ABVP relationship
Mukherjee and Supporters’ Account
Mukherjee said the BJP was never associated with ABVP and blamed alleged Trinamool workers for using the BJP’s name to create disorder.
Critics and Other BJP Leaders’ Concerns
The reported violence involved ABVP leaders and activists, and the BJP’s connection to the events became a subject of political scrutiny.
Role of politicians in student protests
Mukherjee and Supporters’ Account
Mukherjee said her supporters should avoid attacks, extortion and other unlawful activity while working for a fear-free Jadavpur.
Critics and Other BJP Leaders’ Concerns
Swapan Dasgupta argued that student agitation should remain with students and said the involvement of professional politicians had made the situation murky.
- Main figure
- Sarbori Mukherjee, the BJP MLA from Jadavpur.
- Student organization
- Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, identified as the RSS’s students’ wing.
- Mukherjee’s clarification
- She said she did not enter the campus and attended only a peaceful assembly near Jadavpur police station.
- BJP position disputed
- Mukherjee said the BJP has never been associated with ABVP.
- Internal criticism
- Swapan Dasgupta said student agitation should not be hijacked by professional politicians.
- Emblem dispute
- Abhijit Ganguly said damage to the Jadavpur University logo was accidental, while Dasgupta called it desecration.
- Broader political context
- The controversy arose while the West Bengal government faced difficulties over Annapurna scheme grants and allegations of extortion by some BJP members.