Ritabrata Banerjee's TMC faction demands immediate student union polls in Bengal
· India · The Hindu, Hindustan Times
West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, leading a Trinamool Congress faction, on Friday (August 28, 2026) accused the BJP government in the state of failing to hold student union elections and demanded immediate polls across all colleges and universities. Speaking at the foundation day of his faction's students' wing in Kolkata, Banerjee also alleged that the BJP had nominated its MPs and MLAs to college governing bodies, calling it a continuation of the "ills" of the previous CPI(M) and Mamata Banerjee-led governments. Student union elections in West Bengal have been stalled for the last five years, with a PIL filed in the Calcutta High Court last year seeking their resumption. Students at Jadavpur University have staged protests for the past two years demanding that the polls be held, while the state government has said colleges and universities have not taken adequate initiative to organise them.
Why it matters
Over 1.5 lakh students across West Bengal's colleges and universities are directly affected by the five-year absence of elected student bodies, which has weakened campus representation and democratic decision-making in higher education institutions. The political standoff between the ruling BJP and the TMC faction now puts pressure on the government to clarify its position before the Calcutta High Court proceedings advance.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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