The Opposition’s chakka jam (state-wide protest) against ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and deteriorating law and order on Wednesday saw eruption across Bihar, with moderate to intense participation of people. Trains were disrupted at several locations and similarly roads were also blocked, while incidents of violence were also reported from some parts, keeping the security forces and government machinery on toes. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses a gathering during the Bihar Bandh called by the INDIA bloc against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, near Shaheed Smarak in Patna, on Wednesday. (Santosh Kumar/ht)

The bandh came a day before the Supreme Court hearing a batch of petitions against the SIR.

The bandh was called by the Mahagathbandhan whose umbrella coalition, the INDIA bloc, was also supporting the nationwide ‘chakka jam’ called by trade unions in protest against the four labour codes on Wednesday. With Bihar bandh, the Opposition aimed to galvanise public sentiment against the NDA government led by chief minister Nitish Kumar and the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of the crucial 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

The highlight of the Bihar bandh was the presence of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and prominent Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who led the protest march to Election Commission office in Patna. Gandhi was joined by RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav besides D Raja, MA Baby and Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretaries of CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(ML) respectively, in a giant procession that commenced at the Income Tax crossing, around a hundred metres from vital installations such as the Patna High Court, besides offices of many political parties.

Ever since the SIR was notified on June 24 and picked up speed June 30 onwards, the Opposition has been calling the exercise as a malignant move to disenfranchise millions of Bihar voters, especially the marginalised sections that may not be able to meet the entire criterion of verification. Opposition parties also allege that the launch of the drive right before commencement of crucial assembly polls reeks of a wider design by the ruling dispensation to manipulate the polls.

The Opposition has framed the SIR as “votebandi” (disenfranchisement), drawing parallels with the 2016 demonetization (“notebandi”) to underscore its alleged anti-poor nature.

The bandh succeeded in mobilising significant crowds, with protests disrupting normal life across multiple districts. It also amplified the Opposition’s narrative of a deteriorating law-and-order situation in Bihar, with Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav citing the recent murder of businessman Gopal Khemka to label the state as “India’s crime capital” under Nitish Kumar’s governance.

Gandhi actually took a scathing swipe at the ECI and labelled the SIR exercise a plot to rig elections in Bihar. He said that Maharashtra elections earlier were rigged too.Gandhi said, “Maharashtra assembly elections were rigged to favour the BJP and the NDA. They want to repeat it in Bihar, which we will not allow.”

Waving a red copy of the Constitution, that has become his style, he said, “The Election Commission must protect the Constitution… It is working on instructions from the BJP. These Election Commissioners have been nominated by the BJP. The special intensive revision of the electoral rolls is an attempt to steal an election. We will not allow the EC to steal the (voting) rights of the electorate, especially the youth,” he added.

Tejashwi echoed similar sentiments. “The EC has hatched a conspiracy to deprive people, mostly Dalits and other vulnerable sections, of their voting rights. The Election Commission has become a puppet commission. Biharis may be poor, but they are aware, alert, and ready for struggle,” said Yadav.

Dipankar Bhattacharya explained that conditions set by the ECI for Bihar voters are too difficult to meet and thus the SIR is ‘votebandi’ (an attempt to render voters voteless).

‘Tyres burnt, roads and railway tracks blocked’

In most of Bihar districts, the demonstrations were led by local MLAs belonging to RJD, Congress and the three Left parties.

RJD and Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers burnt tyres and blocked roads in Patna’s Maner. Trains, including Shramjeevi Express and Bibhuti Express, were among those stopped across the state. During this, trains were stopped at least seven places while vehicular traffic disrupted on national highways at more than 15 places. In Madhubani, attempts were made to disrupt the operation of the Gangasagar Express and Saryu Yamuna Express.

Processions against the electoral roll revision were also taken out in other places in Bihar, with protesters carrying banners shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the ECI. At Darbhanga, RJD workers and supporters protested bare-chested and blocked the roads by burning tyres. The national highway (NH)-22 between Muzaffarpur and Hajipur was blocked with the help of buffaloes in Vaishali. At Nawada, supporters of the INDIA bloc disrupted vehicular traffic on NH-20 at Rajauli near the Jharkhand border. Lawmaker Amarjit Kushwaha-led RJD and Communist Party of India workers blocked Siwan’s JP Chowk. Business establishments, educational and financial institutions, remained largely closed on Wednesday due to such agitations. Protests were also reported from Jehanabad, Ara, Araria, Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura Katihar, and Kishanganj amid heavy deployment of police forces at important places.

In Muzaffarpur, the impact of the bandh was visible from early morning. RJD workers blocked traffic at the Zero Mile roundabout, shutting down roads leading in and out of Muzaffarpur city. Shops in the vicinity were also closed by RJD workers, enforcing a complete halt in commercial activity.

Reports from Ara said that the chakka jam has been effective and peaceful in Shahabad region like Buxar, Kaimur and Rohtas. CPI-ML and RJD activists led by Ara MP Sudama Prasad and former MLA Arun Yadav disrupted vehicular traffic between Ara-Patna, Ara-Sasaram and Ara-Arwal road creating problems for common people. At Magadh region including Gaya Ji, Aurangabad and Nawada bandh was peaceful and had mixed effect. Mahagathbandhan supporters blocked NH-19 and NH-30 for two hours. Pappu Yadav supporters came on tracks at Sasaram junction and tried to block the rail traffic on DDU-Gaya rail section but alert forces forcibly removed them.

The bandh called by the Opposition parties evoked a mixed response in Seemanchal and Kosi regions. The markets remained partially closed and roads wore a deserted look during the first few hours of the daylong bandh. In Purnia protesters blocked the NH-31 at several places and the bandh supporters were seen forcibly closing the market. At Forbesganj responded to the call of bandh and markets were closed and vehicles remained off the roads.

At Motihari, the bandh supporters under the leadership of RJD leader Vinod Shrivastava took to the street and put up a blockade at Chhatauni chowk. Shops and other commercial establishments functioned normally except for certain pockets in Bettiah and Motihari. However, some private schools and educational institutions preferred to keep their schools closed. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the East and West Champaran.

Additional director general (law and order) Pankaj Darad said all preventive measures were taken to maintain law and order during the bandh. “There were no major untoward incidents.”

(With inputs from Prashant Ranjan, Aditya N Jha, Prasun K Mishra and Sandeep Bhaskar)