Maharashtra shines in JEE Main 2026 as Mumbai’s Viradiya, Pune’s Athalye score perfect 100 percentile

Maharashtra's Madhav Viradiya and Siddharth Athalye achieved 100 percentile in JEE Main 2026, showcasing exceptional talent and hard work.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra produced two of the country’s brightest achievers in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 Session 2, with Madhav Viradiya and Siddharth Athalye securing a 100 percentile and emerging among the national toppers. The results were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) late on Monday evening, marking a proud moment for the state. Viradiya had also secured 100 percentile in Session 1, underlining his remarkable consistency.

Maharashtra shines in JEE Main 2026 as Mumbai’s Viradiya, Pune’s Athalye score perfect 100 percentile

According to NTA data, a total of 16,04,854 candidates registered for both sessions of the JEE Main examination this year, of whom 15,38,468 appeared. From this pool, 2,50,182 students have qualified for the JEE Advanced examination, scheduled to be held on May 17.

The list of toppers this year includes candidates from Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Telangana. Originally from Vadodara, Viradiya moved to Kota with his mother in Class 8 to focus on his studies. After completing Class 10, they shifted to Mumbai for JEE preparation. His disciplined efforts paid off handsomely, with a perfect score in his very first attempt.

“I prepared very hard for this examination and I secured 100 percentile in both the sessions. I have already started preparing for JEE Advanced,” Viradiya said.

His father is an engineer and runs a business in Gujarat, while his elder brother studies at IIT Jodhpur. Viradiya now hopes to secure admission to IIT Bombay in the computer engineering branch.

Pune student Athalye also scripted a stellar comeback. After scoring 99.986 percentile in Session 1, he used the experience to improve further and achieved a perfect 100 percentile in Session 2.

“My mother, father, elder sister all are engineers and I also want to become an engineer as I love physics, chemistry and mathematics,” said Athalye.

He prepared for the examination entirely in Pune. His elder sister completed chemical engineering from IIT Bombay.

“I have not yet decided about the branch of engineering but I want to complete my engineering education from IIT,” Athalye added.