nthused by the spectacular performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections, the party's students' wing, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), is upbeat about "conquering" the Left bastion of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) has always been dominated by the left-wing All India Students Association (AISA) and Students Federation of India (SFI). At present all four student union posts are held by AISA. ABVP started making inroads within the campus in the early 1990s. RSS's K.N. Govindacharya was instrumental in mobilising students towards its ideology. 2001-02 was a landmark when Sandeep Mahapatra of the ABVP won the JNU Students Union president's post by just one vote.

But that victory changed the JNU dynamics completely and the campus was divided into two distinctly ideological compartments, the left and the right.

Mamata Tripathi, whose term as ABVP JNU president expired recently, said the ABVP cadre is upbeat in the campus after the impressive performance of BJP in the national elections and more students have started joining their programmes.

"We have been raising students' issues vigorously. There is a shortage of hostels. Despite two new hostels, there is a need for four hostels for boys and two for girls. We have also been demanding a full-fledged centre for yoga studies on the campus. Besides, we also want installation of CCTV cameras for improving safety and security on the campus," she said.

ABVP's national secretary Rohit Chahal said, just like the prevailing mood in the country, there is a mood for change within the campus also, which will be reflected in the coming elections in September. "Instances of JNU's left wing students associated with Naxals are coming out in the open. ABVP is gradually emerging as a force on the campus," said Chahal.

However, AISA dismisses the ABVP's claims. "The claims of ABVP making inroads on campus do not hold any ground. Yes, there is an atmosphere of debate regarding the change in national politics and the BJP's victory, but that may not translate into support for the right-wing on campus," said Akbar Chawdhary, president, JNUSU.

Though JNU was considered to be an island as it never reflected the mood of the nation, the JNU alumni feel the situation could be different this time.

"Despite changes taking place in the country or outside, the idea of Communism always remained dear to JNU students. But that was a long time ago when the JNU student community came mostly from rural and semi-rural backgrounds. That has now has been replaced by 'restless' boys and girls, who are byproducts of a capitalist, consumerist society. They are active on Twitter and Facebook and are witness to the 'Abki bar Modi sarkar' phenomenon," said Navneet Anand ,who is a JNU alumnus and a communications professional.

"There is a complete cultural metamorphosis on campus. Students are more aligned to the outside world and therefore the national mood will get reflected in the JNU polls," he added.