Nilufa Yasmin tops UGC NET JRF with 100 percentile, hopes to continue in academics
Kolkata: Nilufa Yasmin, a research scholar from Burdwan University in West Bengal, has topped the UGC NET JRF June 2025 exam with a perfect 100 percentile, reports The Indian Express.
A resident of Palita Road in Katwa, Purba Bardhaman district, Yasmin has been pursuing her research about the intersection of music and literature in the Middle Ages.
This was Yasmin’s third attempt at the exam. She told The Indian Express that she didn’t expect to be the national topper. “I am very happy. I had hoped I would do well but never thought I would top,” she said.
Quoting Yasmin, Indian Express reported that her guide, Professor Ramenkumar of the Bengali department, had been a main source of support and encouragement.
Reflecting on her journey, Yasmin mentioned that she found the first paper, especially the mathematics and English sections, challenging. “In the last two years, I faced problems with math and English because we lost touch, so I would advise everyone to practice English for the first paper. And for the second paper, text study is very important,” she told The Indian Express.
Yasmin has consistently ranked first in her academic career and comes from a family with a background in education. Her father, a retired high school teacher, and her mother, also a former schoolteacher, have been key influences in her life. She added that her entire family is celebrating the news. “My parents and sisters are calling me and telling me about all those who are calling them or visiting our home,” she said.
Yasmin also has a deep love for music and often uploads videos of her singing on social media. With this success, she now hopes to continue her path in academics and research.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also congratulated her on social media. “Congratulations to Nilufa Yasmin of Katwa in Purba Bardhaman for scoring 100 percentile and securing first position in India in UGC–NET June, 2025 (with) Bengali,” Banerjee posted, along with a note of appreciation for second rank holder Rikta Chakraborty from Kolkata.
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s message, Yasmin said, “I could not believe that the Chief Minister had congratulated me. I am so happy that she is so busy but she remembers us… that means a lot.”
The UGC NET is a national-level examination that qualifies candidates for Assistant Professorships, Junior Research Fellowships, and PhD admissions in Indian universities. In the June 2025 session, over 10 lakh candidates registered, with more than 7.5 lakh appearing for the test. Of these, 5,269 cleared both JRF and Assistant Professorship, while over 54,000 qualified for Assistant Professorship and PhD, and 1.28 lakh qualified for PhD admission only.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: Over 61 pc voting till 1 pm amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Over 61 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors exercised their franchise till 1 pm of the second and final phase of polling in West Bengal amid attacks on a few candidates, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 1 pm, West Bengal recorded 61.11 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 66.8 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 64.57 per cent and Nadia at 61.41 per cent.
Howrah registered 60.68 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas recorded 60.18 per cent.
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Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 60.18 per cent and 57.73 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, registered 58.58 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 62.18 per cent polling till 1 pm.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari in the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there, amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari said, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"The BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there 'goonda raj' (hooliganism) here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Later in the day, tension flared up in the Kalighat area when Adhikari visited a polling booth and was greeted with slogans by TMC workers, prompting police intervention and a complaint by the opposition leader to the EC seeking deployment of additional central forces.
Security forces had to resort to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. Adhikari chased the sloganeering crowds, whom he alleged were "outsiders trying to influence the polls".
As soon as he reached the area, TMC workers and supporters raised slogans of 'Jai Bangla' and 'chor, chor' against him, while BJP activists responded with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
The ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths in South 24 Pargana's Bhangar.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
