Around 30 Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main aspirants in Visakhapatnam allegedly missed their exam on Monday, April 7 as they were delayed because of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s convoy. While the Visakhapatnam police denied that the students were affected by traffic restrictions related to the convoy, Pawan Kalyan has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Several students whose exam centre was at Ion Digital Zone in Vizag’s Pendurthi said they missed their exam as the traffic police stopped them to allow Pawan Kalyan’s convoy to pass. One of the aspirants’ parents told the media that they reached the centre just past the reporting time of 8.30 am.
Pawan Kalyan was on his way to Pedapadu village in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, to lay the foundation for a road and interact with tribal residents.
“Since this exam centre is along the same route as the convoy, the police stopped many common people, including parents like us, due to traffic restrictions. Because of this, we arrived a couple of minutes late and the students missed the exam. Since there are two more sessions of the exam today and tomorrow, we request Pawan Kalyan to ensure that the students are given another opportunity so they don’t lose out on one entire academic year,” one parent said.
Session 2 of the JEE (Main) 2025 for admissions to BE and BTech programmes is being held from April 2 to 8. The students who missed the exam were allotted the morning shift on April 7, with only two more shifts left before the session ended. The exam is usually held in two sessions – the first in January and the second in April.
As the opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and students’ groups like the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) blamed the Vizag police for mismanaging traffic, the police issued a statement saying students cannot blame traffic for being late.
“According to the admit card, candidates’ reporting time to the exam centre was 7 am, and gates were to be closed at 8.30 am. Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan’s convoy passed the junction at 8.41 am. Therefore, there is no connection between the Deputy CM’s convoy and the late arrival of students who were supposed to reach the exam centre by 7 am,” police said.
They also said that the number of students who missed the exam each day since April 2 was higher than on April 7. They claimed that there were no traffic restrictions along the route to the exam centre until 8.30 am.
Pawan Kalyan, however, later ordered an inquiry into the allegations. He asked the Visakhapatnam police themselves to inquire into how long the traffic was stopped for his convoy, the traffic situation on the routes to the exam centre during the reporting time, etc.
“Pawan Kalyan has a clear stand that he wants to ensure that the people do not face any problems during his tours. The police have been instructed to regulate traffic only for a short period during the visits of VIPs in the coalition government,” a statement from the Deputy CM’s office said.