This guy a veteran in Bengal's politics (>30+ years) reporting, journalism and a columnist. He said something interesting, on question of Why "Jai Shreeram" in Bengal. His response:

> The way a Bengali Hindu looks at the current situation is Shri Ram has come to liberate Maa Kaali chained by demons of TMC.

That's an abstract idea who probably majority of Bengalis who've voted for BJP would agree upon. Also, he noted that this is symbolic of re-opening of Maa Kali's temple that was locked for over a decade by TMC rule in one of its appeasement gestures.

I managed to talk to him for few minutes but I did make a lot of notes of the conversation that he had with other people, journalists, political workers etc. They are pretty interesting actually. If you want, I'll organize them all and make another post. Do let me know.

BTW, he dislikes BJP a lot. And one of the smallest reasons of the dislike is "why Jai Shreeram" in Bengal? Why not "Jai Bhavani"? He hopes Bengal's BJP will turn out to be different from that of UP's. But these are two success stories and it makes a compelling case for Suvendhu and others to follow the model and achieve similar success. So we are likely to see Assamification of Bengal.

Note: This is a premium article published in Indian Express. I have the subscription and I am sharing it with you.

With the NEET-UG cancelled, one suspect has been picked up from Nashik, while more than 150 candidates, their friends and parents have been questioned so far

The unravelling of a suspected leak in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG), 2026, in Rajasthan began with an automated fine print on a WhatsApp message: “Forwarded many times.” When investigators following the trail of a “guess paper” stumbled upon this WhatsApp message, they realised that what they hoped was an isolated leak was much larger in scale.

Officials of the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG), which had been investigating the case before the CBI took charge on Tuesday, said that they found a WhatsApp group named ‘Private Mafia’, where the said paper was being circulated and had members who had paid various amounts, beginning from around Rs 5,000, to join the group. However, despite strict “instructions” from the group administrators not to share the paper, it was circulated far and wide.

Officials said that preliminary investigation had indicated that the paper may have leaked from Nashik, Maharashtra.

Nashik police officials said they have picked up a medical student, identified as Shubham Khairnar (30), who allegedly managed to obtain the question paper days before the exam and shared it further.

Kishor Kale, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Nashik City, said that Shubham’s questioning indicates that he “got the question paper from one of his associates in Pune”. “He received a physical copy of the question paper and transferred it to others as a soft copy,” Kale said, adding that it is being investigated whether this soft copy was the “guess paper” or the actual question paper.

“He was a student of Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) in Bhopal last year and stays in Nashik with his family. We received information from the Rajasthan SOG early Tuesday morning about taking him into custody. We apprehended him and brought him to the crime branch office. As per the preliminary inquiry, he was also a part of the (paper leak) syndicate. We are now transferring him to the CBI,” Kale said. But he insisted that “rumours of paper leaking from Nashik are baseless” and that “the paper wasn’t printed here.”

Kirankumar Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Nashik, said, “The accused had changed his appearance by cutting his hair, making identification difficult. However, based on technical analysis and police investigation, the Crime Branch team managed to trace and detain him.” Officials suspect he purchased the paper for Rs 10 lakh and later sold it for Rs 15 lakh.

Shubham is alleged to have shared the paper with people in Gurgaon and elsewhere, with copies eventually reaching Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and possibly other states. Those who received it included students and career counsellors.

One paper, many trails

SOG officials also reached Sikar on Tuesday as part of their investigation, putting the spotlight on the district that has recently emerged as an alternative to Kota, especially for NEET coaching.

Read | 120 of 410 questions from NEET UG appeared in ‘guess paper’, probe begins in Rajasthan

SOG officials said their investigation also indicated that an MBBS student from Rajasthan’s Shekhawati, who is studying in Kerala, allegedly shared the paper with their father, who runs a paying-guest accommodation in Shekhawati, before the examination. This was shared further, spreading the leaked paper.

Ajay Pal Lamba, the SOG Inspector General, said that more than 150 candidates, their friends and parents have been questioned so far. The SOG has also submitted a list of 150 students and about 70 parents, who allegedly received the paper, to the CBI. Additionally, two dozen key suspects have been handed over to the CBI, Lamba said.

He said that the investigation has revealed that the accused allegedly conspired to sell the genuine question paper as “guess papers”. “Questioning several persons has pointed to an organised group. All these suspicious persons are being questioned by the CBI now. It is wrong to say that Rajasthan is the epicentre; it reached the state via other states. Before Rajasthan, it had reached a person near Gurgaon. It did not originate in Rajasthan,” he claimed, adding that so far, there is no link to gangs in Rajasthan that had earlier been linked to other paper leaks in the state.

An ignored complaint

Before the messages circulating on WhatsApp blew the lid off the lead, sources said that a whistleblower in Rajasthan had approached the local police but did not get a positive response. He then wrote to the National Testing Agency, which verified the complaint, and the Rajasthan SOG eventually initiated a probe.

Sources said that the whistleblower himself is now under scrutiny for allegedly receiving and sharing the question paper, and that he may have complained to avoid arrest once the leak became widespread.

NTA Director General Abhishek Singh on Tuesday said the whistleblower had said he received a WhatsApp message before the exam in which a few questions matched those in the actual examination.

Addressing journalists in Jaipur, Vishal Bansal, Additional Director General of Police, SOG, had earlier said that the “guess paper” had over 400 questions, of which around 120 appeared in the actual examination. “And this guess paper was with students’ weeks before the examination, as far back as a month,” he said, adding that it was being shared “as a .pdf file of about 150 pages with over 400 questions.”

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I've just had conversation with few political observers here in AP. While I am a greenhorn, they are seasoned people who have spent ~20+ years in politics, either as political workers or political reporting or in any other way. I was just a fly on the wall, sitting in corner and listening to them all.

They themselves get inputs from their long term friends back in WB or acquaintances that go back to Bengal in some way or the other. One of them has a friend who works with ABP (Anand Bazar Patrika). They've mentioned lot of other names too but they are all new to me and couldn't remember.

The elections of WB are being watched with great interest in AP. Anyway, according to our people, TMC is going to make a comeback again, probably with slightly diminished mandate. And BJP will increase its vote share and seats but not nearly enough to form the govt. The prediction from here is TMC : 160, BJP : 110.

What would be your estimate? How do you see the return of TMC, IF it happens?

Lastly, I should say that if any of you are considering moving out of your state for any purpose - education, employment or Medical issues, do consider our Telugu states Telangana or Andhra Pradesh. I believe Telugu people are most positive about Bengalis for historical reasons. You should consider our states to be your second home and I am sure you'd feel welcome here.