Reality check for BJP as it loses varsity poll in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, Feb 27: The

received a surprise shock in the student senate polls of the

University (GU) after the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the youth wing of the

won five out of eight seats to maintain its dominance in the said university. The BJP, which had been witnessing successive electoral victories in the state starting from the assembly polls last December followed by the overwhelming win in the local polls, failed to change the equation in GU politics.

The local BJP leaders were stunned by the result for they had believed that the party's prospects would improve vastly after veteran Congress leader Narhari Amin joined their ranks before the assembly polls. Amin, a former deputy chief minister of Gujarat, quit Congress after he was denied an election ticket by the party.

The GU campus was abuzz with action from Tuesday morning over the result of the prestige battle. The counting was held in the university's Central Hall. This was also the first time that the media was not allowed to be present during counting. Only the candidates and their agents were allowed.

Drama unfolded on the campus after Kunal Patel, a candidate from the medical faculty who was elected unanimously and had fought the poll as an Independent declared on Tuesday that he was joining the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a rightist student wing. The ABVP also ran a negative campaign against Anik Timbalia, the Muslim candidate fielded by the NSUI. Timbalia, however, won the election.

Supporters of the ABVP and NSUI engaged in a confrontation after the NSUI members started shouting slogans against Amin. The police had to resort to a mild lathicharge to disperse the two sides. The NSUI later said that they had won the election despite the ABVP's efforts to misuse the official machinery.

The loss in the senate polls cornered the BJP further in the university politics for it had already lost the syndicate polls earlier.

OneIndia News