Many agree that if the BJP had sent emissaries — even members of the Delhi Government — early on to Jantar Mantar to talk to fasting activist Sonam Wangchuk and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders, who were then holding a sit-in there to demand accountability over the NEET exam paper leak, the crisis would not have escalated as it did.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament was supposed to be about a renewed push for the constitutional amendment legislation linked to the Delimitation Bill the Narendra Modi government had failed to pass in the House in April. But now, with the CJP-led student protests forcing the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Education Minister, this may prove to be trickier. Even the Opposition INDIA bloc parties such as the DMK and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), which were keeping all options open on the issue, have suddenly become more ambivalent about it.
Unlike the setback for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when its tally dropped, the challenge for the party this time is different.
A section of the BJP cadre appears to be disappointed that a powerful Prime Minister such as Modi, seen to be loath to act under pressure — though he did withdraw the three farm laws after a year-long farmer agitation at Delhi’s borders — was compelled to drop Pradhan. It would have been another story if Pradhan had quit at the outset and taken a high moral ground.
A misjudgement?
The government seemed to have misjudged the extent to which the paper leak row exercised the minds of students, which was not limited to just the NEET aspirants. Some ministers saw it as an “inconsequential” issue, claiming that it rather gave the students “more time to prepare”, little realising the cost, uncertainty and “trauma” it meant for them and their parents.
Other BJP leaders saw Gen Z as a small, “westernised” group of youngsters living in metros, away from parents and detached from their “sanskar”. The critical online comments against the BJP and the PM by some party functionaries’ children in Odisha or UP show that these youths should not be taken lightly.
The modest rallies of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke in different cities after he arrived in the country in early June, and only a few hundred people at Jantar Mantar in the early days of Wangchuk’s hunger strike, might have lulled the government into believing that the CJP did not have much youth support.
The ruling camp’s biggest miscalculation could be the use of force by the police to bring the protesters to heel, which often turned out to be counter-productive. Buoyed by the BJP’s heady success in West Bengal and the ease with which regional Opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) were subsequently split — bringing two-thirds majority in Parliament within striking distance — the government chose to deal with the protesters with a heavy hand.
If there is one thing that has taken the row to every middle-class home in India, causing widespread angst, it is the visuals of the police lathi-charge and tear gas shelling on July 20, the opening day of the Monsoon Session. This was not like an anti-CAA agitation that the BJP could ignore. The middle class has been the core of Modi’s support base and he can ill afford to antagonise them.
The PM eventually decided to let Pradhan go in a bid to end a deepening crisis. The BJP brass did not want heated sentiments of Gen Z, who account for about a quarter of the population, to influence the next year’s Assembly elections in several states, including UP, Punjab, and Gujarat.
Did the Opposition miss a chance?
While the protests were spearheaded by students, they have given a new heart to an otherwise demoralised Opposition. Any growing discontent against the government is likely to benefit the Congress, the largest Opposition party, more than the regional parties that have weakened lately. The visuals of Rahul Gandhi bleeding from the nose while being dragged by the police from his dharna outside the PM’s residence, and of Akhilesh Yadav being similarly whisked away, may have created a resonance in UP and other states.
Such moments come rarely in the life of a country and unfortunately, the debate that was meant to flag off new ideas for education reform by parliamentarians became a Rahul versus Modi affair yet again.
What will CJP do?
The CJP may retain its hold over a large number of youth if it focuses on their specific issues to keep up the pressure on parties and fashion a new narrative to catalyse a change. But those seeking a change in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls are more likely to look to the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress.
It is too early to reach any conclusions, though. The BJP has a record of undertaking prompt course-correction and has already brought an amended anti-paper leaks Bill in Parliament to ensure stricter punishment for the guilty. It has sacked 47 National Testing Agency (NTA) officials and the PM has also announced a high-powered task force on exam reforms led by Nandan Nilekani.
Whether these measures are enough will depend on the government’s resolve to implement them. Given the expanding privatisation of education as well as the RSS’s high stakes in the sector, this is not going to be an easy task.
And yet, this may become Modi’s moment if his government can go beyond tokenism and come to grips with the issue of long-pending, much-needed reforms in the education system, which could hold out real hope for Gen Z.
If nothing else, the protests have shown that Gen Z is a spirited, resilient cohort concerned with their issues and having an ability to work as a collective. They stood firm on their demand for Pradhan’s ouster and yet showed a flexibility to come to an agreement with the government.
A crucial takeaway remains the point that change is possible through peaceful and democratic means. That is no small gain in 2026.
(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide.)
The protest was called off on July 25 following the resignation of Pradhan as Union Education Minister. (Express photo) 
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