Various students’ organisations staged a dharna outside Patna University vice-chancellor (VC) Rash Bihari Prasad Singh’s residence on Monday evening over chief minister Nitish Kumar’s key strategist Prashant Kishor meeting the VC ahead of Patna University Students Union (Pusu) polls on December 5.

“I saw Prashant Kishor enter the VC’s residence in his Innova bearing UP registration number around 5.30pm on Monday,” former Pusu secretary and Jan Adhikar Chhatra Parishad member Azad Chand said. “Kishor was in the back seat with another person.”

The students say Kishor stayed over two hours at the VC’s residence.

Patna Law College principal Mohammad Sharif, who was there at the VC residence, said: “Kishor had come to meet the VC with another person to discuss some academic projects. There was no discussion on the Pusu polls.”

Kishor could not be contacted but VC Singh said: “Kishor had come to meet me along with Uday Kant Mishra, former VC of Aryabhatta Knowledge University, to discuss some academic projects vis-à-vis disaster management.”

Sources said Kishor was closely monitoring the Pusu polls. After all, former Pusu president Divyanshu Bhardwaj had joined Chhatra JDU in Kishor and JDU MLC Ranbir Nandan’s presence on November 17.

Kishor’s visit takes place after ABVP members allegedly thrashed JDU student wing leader and outgoing Pusu president Bhardwaj outside Patna Women’s College on November 29. A day later, the police raided the ABVP office, inviting state BJP leaders’ wrath.

RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad tweeted: “Nitish Kumar is sending his friend and expensive private servant to VC inviting shame to students union election.”

BJP leaders like MLC Nawal Kishor Yadav, MLA Manoj Sharma and Jivesh Mishra said party leaders should stay away from varsity politics.