Four students in the State, who turned up at the exam centres, were not allowed to write the retest of UGNEET-2026 on Sunday in Karnataka, three for late arrival and one student for carrying the hall ticket of the May 3 examination. 

The exam also led to political back and forth between BJP and Congress. While BJP’s Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya blamed the Karnataka Congress rally where B. K. Hariprasad took charge as the new State unit chief at Palace Grounds on Sunday, Home Minister Priyank Kharge hit back terming it “misinformation”. 

Three of those who missed the exam on Sunday were assigned to the Government Ramnarayan Chellaram College of Commerce and Management (R.C. College) examination centre in Bengaluru. Two students were not allowed to enter the centre due to late arrival and the other student had got the old hall ticket. 

Two students arrived at the centre a few minutes late. By the time the students arrived, the gates of the examination centre were closed. The students pleaded and cried, but were not allowed inside. One student tried to climb the compound grill to enter the examination centre. The police brought the student down and sent her back.

Political slugfest

Mr. Surya took to social media platform X and alleged: “As massive traffic disruptions choked Bengaluru, many students were delayed, some reaching exam centres in panic and having to plead with authorities to be allowed inside. Thankfully, examination authorities accommodated them and provided compensatory time”. He said, “The Congress party could have chosen any other day for its rally at Palace Grounds. Instead, it chose the very day thousands of students are appearing for NEET”. 

Home Minister Priyank Kharge hit back terming this as “misinformation”. “One student, travelling from Magadi, could not get a bus on time and reached the centre late, resulting in her missing the exam. Only one candidate travelling from the R.T. Nagar side missed the exam, and the exact reason is still being ascertained. The Bengaluru Traffic Police had issued public notifications and traffic advisories well in advance,” he said. 

“The BJP MP, who is overflowing with concern for students missing exams for different reasons, was conveniently silent when his own incompetent government allowed more than 22 lakh students to suffer due to NEET mismanagement, paper leaks and chaos, with over 10 students reportedly dying by suicide,” he hit back. 

Another student who arrived 20 minutes late at the Government First Grade College examination centre in Gangavathi taluk of Koppal District was also not allowed to enter the centre.