MPSC Protest in Pune Enters Fifth Day; Students Split Over Exam Pattern

Pune, October 05, 2026: The MPSC protest in Pune entered its fifth day on Monday as the students demand changes in the functioning of Maharashtra Public Service Commission and seem to be firm on their demand for the resignation of MPSC Chairman.

The protests are going on at multiple locations in Pune and have not shown any signs of resolving despite talks and government assurances.

Three groups of students have emerged and they are protesting at different locations, SM Joshi Bridge, Lal Bhadur Shastri Road and Tilak Chowk/Alka Chowk. These three groups have different demands over exam pattern.

However, the main demand from all protesters is the resignation of the Chairman of MPSC, Vivek Bhimanwar. The government has not accepted this demand till now and says that the post of MPSC Chairman is a constitutional post, outside the direct authority of the state government, and is under the decision making of the President of India.

Students are divided over the MPSC exam pattern with one faction demanding objective type/MCQ pattern examination while the other demanding continuation of descriptive pattern introduced in 2025. The government has assured that the pattern will be decided in line with the Radha Committee Report and overall student sentiment.

The MPSC exams impact over 70,000 government vacancies. The government has assured recruitment against accumulated vacancies.

The government has also assured that whether the MPSC exams will be conducted online or offline will be decided only in consultation with the students.

The protest was briefly suspended after CM Fadnavis met the protestors but resumed after their demand for the resignation of the MPSC Chairman was not fulfilled. The government has already removed the MPSC secretary, Mahendra Harpalkar, but the students remain firm on MPSC Chairman’s resignation.

The protests were triggered by a paper leak during Drug Inspectors Recruitment exam. Bhimanwar denies responsibility for the leak saying it occurred before he took over as Chairman MPSC.

Sharad Pawar, Rohit Pawar, Rahul Gandhi and many other opposition leaders have supported the protesting students while BJP leaders accuse them of politicizing the protest.

Due to the ongoing protests, the State Service Main Exam has been postponed. Civil engineering and Group-B Main exams have also been postponed.

MPSC has announced the re-evaluation of the 2025 State Services Main Exam answer sheets.

Aaditya Thackeray of Shiv Sen UBT announced that he would be traveling to Pune on October 06 to extend support to the protesting students.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also showed solidarity and support to the ongoing protests in Pune. He said, “More than 20 lakh MPSC aspirants have been affected by repeated paper leaks and are demanding the resignation of the MPSC Chairman. The govt must listen to these young people and address their demands. They are the future of Maharashtra. The Cockroach Janta Party stands firmly with all MPSC aspirants in their fight for justice and accountability.”

Pune Lok Sabha MP and Union Minister of State, Murlidhar Mohol said he was continuously in touch with the protesting students and appealed the protesters to end the protest. He asked the 15-member delegation met the Chief Minister and signed the agreement for suspension of the protest, then why they are protesting again after reaching Pune?

MPSC विद्यार्थ्यांचे आंदोलन… होणारे राजकारण आणि आमची भूमिका ! @narendramodi @PMOIndia @AmitShah @NitinNabin @blsanthosh @BJP4India @Dev_Fadnavis @CMOMaharashtra @RaviDadaChavan @BJP4Maharashtra https://t.co/AYnwZ3GQgh

— Murlidhar Mohol (@mohol_murlidhar) October 4, 2026

Meanwhile it will be a wait and watch to see if Maharashtra Government holds fresh round of talks with students and cedes to the demand of the resignation of MPSC Chairman.

Another complication in this protest and its resolution is due to the protest getting dividing into three groups, each with a slightly different set of demands, making it difficult to resolve the demands of all student factions.