While the government has done some firefighting over the NEET issue, the Opposition is in no mood to be placated. It’s an issue which it knows very well could resonate, especially with many students being upset with the last-minute deferment of NEET exams. So this is one issue which the combined Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc wishes to raise.

In fact, sources say the bloc plans to reach out to parties such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), which until now have preferred to stay away. The bloc feels the students’ issue would ensure expansion of the Opposition platform.

More than this, it’s the sheer optics on which the Opposition is riding. Topping the list for the Congress is the projection of Rahul Gandhi as the contender and achiever who “humbled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”. Adding to his muscle is Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Akhilesh Yadav, whose performance in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has shocked the BJP. Together with Rahul Gandhi, the UP wale ladke plan to “take them on”.