Bihar

Opposition INDIA bloc leaders in Bihar marched to Lok Bhavan on Thursday. They demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raised objections to alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Led by RJD working president and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, the procession moved from Shaheed Smarak near Vidhan Sabha. RJD, Congress, Left parties and other allies joined the march.

Police Blocked the Rally

Police stopped the rally near Election Commission office. They used barricades and heavy deployment. Yadav tried to cross the barricades but was turned back. CPI(ML) leader Ajit Kushwaha fainted during the commotion. He was rushed for medical help.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma said Yadav and some leaders were allowed to meet the governor. A few protesters were detained for allegedly causing a disturbance.

RJD MP Misa Bharti was in the procession. She accused police of acting in a high-handed manner, even though the protest was peaceful. State Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram arrived at Lok Bhavan wearing handcuffs. He called it a symbol that democracy is under threat.

Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahni was also part of the delegation. He said the governor assured them the memorandum would be forwarded to the concerned authorities. The opposition is ready for a long fight.

Source: New Indian Express, 8 October 2026

Police detained Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders in Patna on Thursday. The detention happened after police stopped their march to Raj Bhavan. The protest was against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's voter rolls.

Police set up five layers of barricades along the route. They also deployed Rapid Action Force personnel. Water cannons were kept ready just in case. Tejashwi Yadav climbed over a barricade before he was taken into custody.

Leaders Make Demands

The RJD leader asked Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign. He said the government was protecting him. He also warned that whoever was behind the alleged vote theft would face action eventually.

This came after a statewide protest on October 7. Protest marches and effigy-burning took place at all 534 block headquarters across Bihar. The next phase included demonstrations at district headquarters and the Raj Bhavan march in Patna.

Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, has accused the state of electoral fraud. He says the Chief Election Commissioner is working on orders from BJP and the Prime Minister.

Yadav claims the special intensive revision exercise has led to a mass removal of voters' names from electoral rolls. He also pointed out that voting records retention was cut from one year to 45 days, which he says is a clear sign of bad intentions.

Planned protests across Bihar

On October 7, INDIA bloc leaders will launch an Aakrosh March at the block level against CEC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. On October 8, they will hold sit-in protests in all districts, followed by a demonstration at Lok Bhavan in Patna led by Yadav.

BJP spokesperson Niraj Kumar Sharma responded, saying Yadav is hiding his real agenda of bringing back Jungle Raj by attacking a constitutional institution. He called the allegations a confession rather than an accusation, pointing to RJD's history of booth capturing and bogus voters.

CPI(ML) Liberation has put out a survey showing that nearly 17 per cent of voters deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar were still living at their registered addresses. The party tracked 9,288 voters across 50 booths in 10 constituencies and found that these people were wrongly removed from the list.

The survey says a total of 68.66 lakh voters were deleted during the SIR process in Bihar. If that 17 per cent error rate applies across the state, about 11.36 lakh people were denied their right to vote. These findings came out at a public hearing in Patna on October 1, 2026.

Close Races Affected

The report points to close contests where these deletions may have changed the results. In the Agiaon Assembly seat, BJP won by a margin of just 0.06 per cent. In Ziradei, Janata Dal (United) beat CPI(ML) by 1.66 per cent. The party says the scale of manipulation amounts to rigging through means other than the electronic voting machine.

These claims add to earlier reports of electoral fraud in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in 2024, and West Bengal earlier this year. The article suggests that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation alone will not fix the problem. The flawed voter lists created by the SIR exercise will still be there.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of using "fraudulent means" to help BJP win elections across India.

Yadav, who leads the opposition in Bihar Assembly, said people are angry and out on the streets protesting. He claimed the CEC works at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

His main points

To back his claims, Yadav pointed to three things. First, the legal immunity given to the CEC under CEC and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. Second, the cut in time to preserve electronic election records down to just 45 days. Third, the removal of the Chief Justice of India from the CEC selection panel.

He also criticised the Bihar government over floods. Yadav said the NDA government drained the state's resources for elections and left very little for disaster relief. "Bihar is being run on loans," he said, warning the situation could get worse in six months.

Yadav also hit out at Prime Minister Modi for spending over Rs 100 crore on lighting lamps during his birthday campaign instead of helping flood victims and farmers. He called it politics of appearances and tokenism.

Yadav said his party will keep fighting against such injustices till the end of his life.

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has rejected opposition claims against Election Commission of India about the Summary Revision of voter lists in Bihar, calling them completely baseless.

What happened during the SIR process

The SIR process in Bihar ran from June 24, 2025 to July 25, 2025. During this time, entries related to deceased persons, permanently shifted voters, and duplicate registrations were checked. Choudhary said the whole exercise followed the rules and was done in a fully clear manner. No eligible person's name was removed from the electoral rolls.

Choudhary also pointed out that a similar SIR was done in 2003 under then Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and again in 2025 under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Election Commission, he added, has put the 2003 voter list online so that eligible voters can cross-check their old details themselves.

Addressing questions raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the Chief Minister said Election Commission has already cleared up the matters in question. He also noted that Aadhaar cards are accepted as identity proof following Supreme Court directives, though the top court has made it clear that Aadhaar establishes identity and is not proof of citizenship.

Choudhary said no real complaints about leaving out eligible voters have been received so far, while proper channels under set procedures remain open for any valid complaints. He asked all political parties to present their case with facts and evidence instead of spreading confusion.

CPI(ML) is organising a meeting of voters in Patna on October 1. These are voters who were wrongly declared dead and dropped from voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar last year.

Party worker Pervej said preparations are on. People from 10 assembly constituencies will attend the meet at IMA Hall. These are the same constituencies CPI(ML) contested in the 2025 state assembly elections, he said over the phone from Jehanabad.

The meeting will point out what the party calls unfair working by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. General secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has said Kumar took decisions on his own, without involving the two other election commissioners. The three-member body is supposed to work through agreement or majority vote.

"Gyanesh Kumar has no reason to stay on as CEC. He should resign in light of new facts in the public domain," Bhattacharya told reporters in Patna on Sunday.

CPI(ML) had already put out a statement on September 23. It pointed to disagreements within Election Commission and demanded action against the CEC. The party also wants the electoral rolls prepared after SIR scrapped. It wants the revision exercise cancelled, and the assembly elections held after SIR cancelled too.

Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary pushed back at Congress on Sunday. He said the opposition has no right to question Election Commission's fairness. At a press conference in Patna, he pointed to a pattern of post-retirement jobs given to former chief election commissioners during Congress rule.

He gave three examples. MS Gill, a former CEC, became a Union minister under Congress. T N Seshan ran for elections on a Congress ticket against L K Advani. R K Trivedi, who served as CEC from 1982 to 1985, was made Governor of Gujarat. Samrat said these cases show Congress's own record on keeping institutions independent.

On the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Samrat called opposition claims a false alarm. He said EC has made the 2003 voter list available online so eligible voters can check their old details during the current SIR process.

He also shared key numbers from the Bihar roll revision. 22.34 lakh voters were found dead, 36.28 lakh had moved, and 7 lakh were registered at two locations. These names were removed strictly as per the rules, he said, and no counter-claims or applications were received by EC.

Samrat also targeted Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, calling them the yuvraj of their parties. He said both had earlier alleged illegal mass voter deletions before last year's Bihar assembly polls. None of those claims could be proven.

He asked opposition parties to stop weakening democratic institutions with baseless claims. For any election-related complaints, he said, they should go to EC or the courts with facts and evidence.

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has rejected the opposition parties' claims against Election Commission of India over the SIR process. He called them baseless and said they are meant to create confusion.

CM Choudhary said the SIR process in Bihar ran from June 24, 2025 to July 25, 2025. During this period, entries related to deceased persons, people who permanently moved, and voters registered at multiple locations were checked strictly by the rules. No eligible person's name was removed from the electoral rolls, he assured.

He also pointed out that a similar SIR was conducted in 2003 under then Chief Minister Rabri Devi. This time, it happened under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, following the same procedure. Election Commission has made the 2003 voter list available online so voters can check their old details themselves.

Opposition's Claims Answered

Responding to questions from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the Chief Minister said Election Commission had already clarified all the points raised. Opposition leaders have no facts, only allegations.

On Aadhaar, he noted that Supreme Court has directed acceptance of Aadhaar as identity proof. At the same time, the apex court has clarified that Aadhaar proves identity but does not prove citizenship. No genuine complaints about eligible voters being excluded have been received so far, and proper channels remain open for any valid grievance.

CM Choudhary urged opposition parties to present their views with facts and evidence. He stressed that both Election Commission and the judiciary are very important pillars of democracy, and complaints should go through these proper institutions rather than press conferences.

Congress and RJD workers held a protest march in Patna on Friday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protest was over issues tied to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Police used water cannons to push back the Congress supporters as they marched to the Bihar State Election Commission. A scuffle broke out between police and Congress workers during the protest.

RJD workers also hit the streets and burned an effigy of Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR process. The party has held similar protests across the country on the same issue.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, has called out Election Commission for allegedly working at BJP's behest. He demanded the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Plain and simple.

Yadav's remarks came after a media report revealed that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and database access. That is not a small number.

Strong words from Yadav

He termed the situation a murder of democracy. Strong words, but that is how he put it.

Election Commission has pushed back firmly, rejecting the characterisation of these objections as institutional dissent. The body called them operational queries and internal feedback that are part of normal functioning in any multi-member constitutional body. All final decisions on the SIR exercise were unanimous, the ECI maintained.

RJD has launched protests across many districts of Bihar against the alleged irregularities. Yadav warned that a long fight will follow if no arrest is made.

For voters, here is a key legal point. As per the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the CEC can only be removed through a Parliamentary vote backed by a majority of total House membership and two-thirds of members present, followed by the President's approval. The CEC also enjoys protection from criminal or civil proceedings for actions taken in discharge of official duty.

Bihar Minister Ramkripal Yadav backed the Election Commission of India on Friday, calling the ongoing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls a dangerous trend for Indian democracy.

Speaking to ANI from Patna, Yadav was blunt. "Controversies surrounding the Election Commission are not a good omen for democracy," he said. He pointed out that Congress has won many elections at both central and state levels, so blaming the ECI for one's own defeats does not add up.

On 'vote chori' claims and impeachment threat

Yadav addressed the Opposition's allegations of vote theft directly and said parties should accept electoral verdicts gracefully. "The people have defeated them through their votes. Then they talk about vote theft, theft of this and that; these are all baseless matters," he stated.

He also dismissed any chance of an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar moving forward. "If an impeachment motion is brought, it will fall," Yadav said, pointing to past failed attempts by the Opposition.

Background of the controversy

His remarks came a day after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi stepped up criticism of the ECI, saying elections had been "rigged" and demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Gandhi's attack followed a report by The Indian Express about objections reportedly raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over electoral roll procedures, database changes and the SIR exercise.

The ECI has said that internal observations and queries are normal in a multi-member constitutional body. It added that final SIR decisions were taken unanimously.