India, July 26 -- Prolonged deliberations within the government over the social and security ramifications of allowing the student protests over paper leaks to continue and the possible adverse electoral impact it might have for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is already gearing for the next round of state elections, may have forced the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday, said people aware of the details.

Another key reason was the fear of alienating a big demographic - young people, most specifically Gen Z - not limited by "geographical, faith and caste divisions" , said one of the people in the BJP HT spoke to.

The protests over the irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligib...