Weeks after the BJP's significant victory in West Bengal, organizations linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have begun expanding rapidly across colleges, universities, and educational institutions that were long dominated by the Left and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC).
From campuses in Kolkata to colleges in north Bengal, RSS-backed student and teachers' groups report a sharp increase in membership requests and inquiries from students, professors, and non-teaching staff. This development follows the May 4 election results, which altered the political mood in the state and boosted confidence among BJP and RSS affiliates.
ABVP sees exponential growth
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the RSS-linked student organization, claimed it had a presence in only 96 colleges before the election results. According to its leaders, that number has now crossed 400 within a few weeks, even before the formal membership drive begins 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 following proper procedure and scrutiny before induction,” ABVP South Bengal secretary Nilkantha Bhattacharya told news agency PTI.
ABVP leaders also claimed that several students approaching the organization were previously linked to the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the student wing of the TMC, and in some cases to the Students' Federation of India (SFI), linked to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Breaking the psychological barrier
RSS leaders said the BJP's victory has broken a “psychological resistance barrier” inside Bengal's academic institutions, where Left influence remained strong for decades and where the TMC later built its own campus networks through student unions and local influence.
Along with ABVP, other RSS-linked organizations such as Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal and Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) also claimed they are witnessing rapid growth in West Bengal after the BJP's victory.
ABRSM membership could cross one lakh
ABRSM state general secretary Bapi Pramanik said the organization's membership in Bengal, once below 10,000, could now cross one lakh as more teachers and educational staff seek association with groups viewed as being close to the new political power structure.
“Our network already has a presence across most blocks and educational circles in the state, but the post-election momentum has dramatically accelerated recruitment in districts where Sangh affiliates earlier struggled to gain institutional legitimacy,” he said.
The Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal also argued that West Bengal required stronger mobilization because the state had resisted implementing the National Education Policy for years, despite several recommendations emerging from consultations involving its thinkers.
