Indore: Student union polls: Police use force as BJP, NSUI activists face off

Indore: Police had to use mild force as BJP workers of Indore-2 constituency, including party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya’s son, and activists of National Student Union of India came face to face during campaigning for student union polls at a private college on Thursday.

Timely action by the police foiled a possible violent fight between the two outfits even as colleges citing the incident demanded adequate police cover from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya for smooth conduct of polls. Students unions are wooing voters for supporting their candidates in student unions polls to be held in private colleges on November 27.

There is a straight fight between NSUI and ABVP in the polls. On Thursday, Indore-2 BJP workers jumped into the elections with approaching students of colleges located in their constituency.

Vijayvargiya’s son Aakash, corporator Chandu Shinde and Ratnesh Mendola, nephew of Indore-2 MLA Ramesh Mendola, along with their supporters reached colleges located in press complex and Vijay Nagar area and asked students to support ABVP candidates. BJP workers visited Softvision College, Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Gujarati Innovative College and Christian Eminent Academy (Campus-2) and sought votes from students to ABVP candidates.

At Gujarati Innovative College, the BJP workers allegedly beat up an NSUI activist Aakash Soni. When NSUI activists came to know about this, they in large number reached the college but by that time BJP workers had left for Christian Eminent Academy, a stronghold of NSUI.

The BJP workers forced their entry into the Christian Academy campus as they were told that entry of outsiders is ban on the campus due to polls. NSUI president Vipin Wankhede is an alumnus of Christian Academy. When his supporters learnt that BJP had entered the college and trying to mobilise support for ABVP they also reached there and objected to entry of saffron activists on the college premises.

Activists of both the outfits indulged in shouting of slogans even as the college authorities called police. With tempers growing high, the police used mild force to disperse the mob.

NSUI district president Amit Patel said that the police were biased in taking action at Christian Eminent. “The cops only pushed NSUI activists outside the campus and let BJP leaders continue to canvas inside which was violation of poll code,” he said adding that they would lodge a complaint into the matter with DAVV registrar and nodal officer (polls) Ajay Verma.

Shinde said that the NSUI has anticipated its defeat in the polls so it attempted to disrupt the canvassing of saffron outfits at colleges. He rubbished the charges that any student was beaten up by BJP workers.

Colleges seek police security

Thursday incident panicked colleges in the city and they sought adequate police security from DAVV registrar and nodal officer Ajay Verma during polls. Verma said that the colleges have sought police security on their campus for smooth conduct of polls. “We have assured them of passing their request to the police administration,” he said. Verma also stated that they are revising the list of sensitive colleges in the city. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh College, Khalsa College, Christian Eminent Academy, Shri Vaishnav Commerce College are among 10 sensitive colleges in the city.