Violence erupted inside the Jadavpur University campus in West Bengal late Wednesday (August 19, 2026) as supporters of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Students Federation of India (SFI) clashed over a general body meeting.

Armed with sticks and batons, supporters of ABVP stormed inside the campus, tore posters of the Left-backed students, and set them on fire. The violence and unrest reached the doors of Aurobindo Bhawan, the administrative headquarters of the university.

The dispute started over a ‘general body’ meeting and AVBP claimed that there supporters were manhandled by the Left backed unions. ABVP supporters said that a ‘general body’ meeting was called even though there are no official union representatives in the university. No student elections have been held for the past few years.

AVBP supporters also alleged that several students, including ABVP’s Jadavpur University Unit President Nikhil Das, were injured.

BJP MLA from Jadavpur Sarbari Mukherjee blamed SFI supporters and student leader Srijan Bhattacharya for the ruckus. Mr. Bhattacharya, however, said that the BJP MLA was blaming the violence on students after orchestrating it.

On Thursday (August 20, 2026), both SFI and AVBP were called for a gathering outside the university amid a large deployment of police at the premises.

Calling the violence unfortunate, Vice-Chancellor Chiranjeev Bhattacharya said that if required there will be a round the clock police posting inside the campus. Mr. Bhattacharya said that an inquiry will be initiated to ascertain who started the violence.

Jadavpur University remains one of the last bastions of the Left politics in West Bengal.

Published - August 20, 2026 12:50 pm IST