After bruising defeats in the May 2026 Assembly elections—losing Tamil Nadu to the newcomer Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), West Bengal to the BJP, and Assam to the BJP-led NDA for a third consecutive term, while the Congress wrested Kerala from the Left Democratic Front—opposition parties have found common ground in the alleged irregularities of the NEET-UG 2026 examination, holding nationwide protests to corner the ruling BJP at the Centre. The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the May 3 examination on May 12, and the government referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation; a re-test is scheduled for June 21.

On May 21, after a Congress protest march towards the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi reiterated his demand for the Union Education Minister’s resignation. “We won’t stop until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns and a strong, secure system is put in place to stop paper leaks in the country,” he said in a post on X.

While Rahul Gandhi said the opposition would continue its campaign on examination reform and accountability, his party colleague, AICC general secretary in-charge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, addressing a similar protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru the same day, alleged that the NTA under the Modi government had become a “National Tamasha Agency.” “What expectations can we have from those who can’t keep the NEET exam NEAT and CLEAN?” he said. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and several State Ministers joined the demonstration, where some protesters wore T-shirts with the slogan “PM is compromised.”

More than wordplay, Surjewala sought to blame the BJP for multiple examination frauds and paper leaks in a Congress-ruled State that goes to the polls in 2028. “For the last 12 years, the Modi government has handed over India’s education system to an education mafia and paper leak mafia,” he said. Listing major scandals, he added that under the Modi government, the list of education scams grows daily, and that paper leaks were no longer administrative lapses but the “new normal.”

In BJP-ruled Jaipur, the Congress’s large protest marked the first since its 2023 Assembly loss. Led by State chief Govind Singh Dotasra and Leader of the opposition Tikaram Jully, party workers faced water cannons and police batons as young men and women in mock doctors’ aprons stained with red paint shouted slogans.

That the issue had brought the opposition together was evident in the flags of the Left parties and regional outfits fluttering alongside the Congress’s at the venue—a fortnight after the Congress had wrested Kerala from the Left in a closely fought election.

The Congress’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), led nationwide protests in several State headquarters in response to the NEET paper leak. Its National President, Vinod Jakhar, who took charge in February 2026, gave the government a 10-day ultimatum to deliver justice to NEET students, dissolve the NTA, and demand the Education Minister’s resignation. Jakhar alleged that Rajasthan was a major centre of the leak network and claimed political protection for those involved.

A unifying cause, contested terrain

The NEET protest gave a previously divided opposition a unified and powerful moral voice, refocusing the political narrative for the youth.

In Jaipur, the protest concluded with a candlelight vigil. The same day, in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur and Kolkata, the Youth Congress, the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) held parallel protests, demanding a Supreme Court-monitored investigation. TMC protesters marched to the State’s Education Department, and Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose led the call for accountability, denouncing the failures of the Central government.

In NDA-ruled Patna, where frequent paper leaks made headlines, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav seized the NEET protest moment. He argued that the NEET-UG leak was not an isolated incident, stressing that an “organised mafia operated under political patronage.”

Citing data on past examination leaks, he also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pariksha Pe Charcha programme, saying that while the Centre talks about a discussion on examinations, it ends up giving the youth lathis when they ask for accountability.

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said the Centre’s promise of an error-free re-test only confirmed that the system was never working. He argued that true reform should begin with dismantling the NTA and decentralising the process.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK chose to seize the occasion to target the Modi government over the “centralised testing” model. More than 500 people took part in a State-wide protest organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) on May 16, with the DMK extending open support.

On May 12, after the cancellation of the examination, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said it was “a vindication of what the DMK has always stood for”—for abolishing NEET and making admissions on the basis of Class XII marks. “The NTA is a repository of RSS functionaries. That’s the biggest problem. The question paper has leaked from a BJP-ruled State. And this is probably the 4th or 5th time the question paper has leaked,” he posted on X.

In Uttar Pradesh, which votes next year, the Samajwadi Party’s youth wing protested the NEET cancellation alongside demands on unemployment, fuel prices, and inflation. Their aim goes beyond the examination issue to target the Adityanath government. At a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on education, opposition members from the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Samajwadi Party, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) formed a united front, calling on NTA officials to take moral responsibility for the paper leak.

Cosmetic unity, real fault lines

Rahul Gandhi’s restraint in West Bengal reflects the Congress’s awareness that, with fewer than 100 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, it cannot challenge the BJP alone and must ally with regional parties for 2029. While the NEET protests signal potential opposition unity, the Monsoon Session of Parliament in July will test that resolve, given the changes in State politics within the INDIA coalition.

The Congress now partners with the TVK in Tamil Nadu, dropping its former ally, the DMK. The Left has lost Kerala to the Congress, raising questions about future ties among the Congress, the Left, and the DMK in opposition unity.

Perhaps aware of the need for the larger opposition unity framework, DMK President M.K. Stalin’s message to his cadres on social media on May 22 was: “Every party has the right to determine its political decision. Therefore, as your leader, my loving appeal to you, DMK comrades, is that at this time, you should not speak harsh words that would hurt anyone.”

While the NEET-UG paper leak has created a cosmetic unity of the opposition for the time being, care will have to be taken by all in the INDIA coalition to ensure it does not crack soon—and that will require a lot of give and take from both sides: the main opposition Congress, and regional parties, who have now reduced strength.

Also Read | The opposition has let India down

Also Read | NEET: A test in turmoil