India, Oct. 6 -- The five-day Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) agitation in Pune has increasingly turned into a political contest even as thousands of aspirants continue to grapple with a more immediate problem - the rising financial and personal cost of pursuing a government job amid postponed examinations, changing patterns and allegations of paper leaks.

The protest at SM Joshi Bridge, backed by NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, has made MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar's resignation its principal demand, along with recruitment to 70,000 posts, offline examinations, an impartial inquiry into alleged irregularities and a Rajasthan-style examination-card system.

Pawar has refused to withdraw from the agitation. "We won't leave this pl...