Weeks after the BJP’s landslide victory in West Bengal, RSS-affiliated organizations have begun to spread rapidly in colleges, universities and educational institutions long dominated by the Left and the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.From Kolkata campuses to colleges in North Bengal, RSS-backed student and teacher groups say they are experiencing a surge in membership requests and inquiries from students, professors and non-teaching staff. The development came after the May 4 election results when the political mood in the state changed and confidence grew among BJP and RSS affiliates.Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), an RSS-affiliated student body, claimed it had a presence in only 96 colleges before the election results. According to its leaders, that number has now exceeded 400 in a matter of weeks, even before the formal membership drive began on June 9.“Many students from various colleges and universities are in touch with us and want to join ABVP and open ABVP units in their colleges or universities. But unlike TMCP, joining ABVP requires due process and scrutiny,” ABVP South Bengal secretary Neelkantha Bhattacharya told news agency PTI.ABVP leaders also claimed that many of the students approaching the organization were previously affiliated with the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the student wing of the TMC, and in some cases with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), which is affiliated with the CPI(M).RSS leaders said the BJP’s victory had broken a “psychological resistance barrier” within Bengal’s educational institutions, where Left influence remained strong for decades and where the TMC later built its campus network through student unions and local influence.The ABVP as well as other RSS-affiliated organizations such as the Bharatiya Shikham Mandal and the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shishak Mahasangh (ABRSM) also claimed to be making rapid progress in West Bengal following the BJP’s victory.ABRSM state general secretary Bapi Pramanak said the organization’s membership in Bengal, once less than 10,000, may now exceed one lakh as more teachers and academic staff seek affiliation with groups seen as closer to the new political power structure.“Our network is already present in most blocks and educational constituencies of the state, but the post-election momentum has dramatically accelerated recruitment in districts where earlier Sangh affiliates were struggling to gain institutional legitimacy,” he said.The Bharatiya Shikham Mandal also argued that West Bengal needed stronger mobilization as the state had resisted implementing a national education policy for years despite several recommendations coming out in consultation with its thinkers.
