Candidates miss UPTET in Budaun as BJP leader's roadshow leaves them stranded

Badaun, UP,UPDATED: Jul 3, 2026 23:18 IST

A political row broke out in Uttar Pradesh on Friday after traffic congestion allegedly linked to BJP leader Durvijay Singh Shakya's roadshow left several candidates unable to reach their centres for the second shift of the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test in Budaun district.

The district administration said some candidates could not arrive on time and that it would write to the state government seeking permission for them to reappear. Officials said heavy rain, traffic diversions and the BJP leader's convoy had affected traffic movement, though the administration did not blame the higher absenteeism in the second shift on the congestion alone.

District Magistrate Avinash Kumar Rai said, "We will correspond with the state government and make efforts to ensure that candidates who could not appear due to the delay are given another opportunity." Asked whether permission had been granted for the roadshow, he said no such permission had been taken to his knowledge.

According to official figures, 4,875 of the 5,639 candidates appeared in the first shift, while 764 remained absent. In the second shift, 4,455 of 5,639 candidates appeared and 1,184 were absent, 420 more than in the first shift.

Several candidates alleged they were stranded for hours on the Bareilly-Badaun road because of VIP movement and could not reach their examination centres before the reporting deadline. One affected candidate told reporters she was stuck in the traffic jam for nearly one-and-a-half hours because of the BJP leader's roadshow and could not reach her centre in time.

She said her examination centre was an inter-college on Nainital Road and that two other women candidates travelling with her also missed the examination. According to her, eight to ten women aspirants were stranded in the same traffic congestion allegedly caused by the roadshow. She appealed to the authorities to hold a re-examination for those who missed the test because of the disruption and said, "What else can we do now?"

Samajwadi Party MP Aditya Yadav accused the government of jeopardising the future of the aspirants and demanded that those who missed the examination because of the traffic congestion be given another chance after a fair inquiry. He also urged the government not to allow political programmes on the days of competitive examinations.

Senior Superintendent of Police Ankita Sharma said traffic had already been affected by heavy rain and repair work on an overbridge, forcing vehicles to use an underpass that had become waterlogged. She said Shakya's convoy entered the city at around 2.30 pm, adding to the congestion, while police continued efforts to restore normal traffic.

Rejecting the allegation that his roadshow alone caused the disruption, Shakya said he had left his residence at around 10.40 am, after the first shift had already begun, and had halted his convoy at two places to allow traffic carrying examination candidates to pass. He said road widening work on the Bareilly-Badaun route and rain had already slowed traffic and that it would be unfair to blame only his convoy for the jams.

Nearly 20 lakh candidates were expected to appear for UPTET-2026 from July 2 to 4 at 955 examination centres across 60 districts of the state, the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission had said on Wednesday. The test is mandatory for candidates seeking appointment as teachers in primary classes 1 to 5 and upper primary classes 6 to 8 schools in Uttar Pradesh, and is being held in five shifts over three days. In Budaun, the dispute centred on whether traffic disruption during the second shift denied some candidates the chance to take the exam.

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