PATNA: Security personnel detained several young protesters and students in Patna on Tuesday after a demonstration demanding

PATNA — Security personnel detained several young protesters and students in Patna on Tuesday after a demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi escalated into clashes on city streets.

Members of Left party student wings, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-M-L), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA), and the Bheem Army, participated in the march. Protesters attempted to move from Gandhi Maidan toward the Raj Bhavan, alleging that “vote chori” (theft) had occurred through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and West Bengal.

The demonstration highlights escalating political tensions over recent electoral processes and voter list revisions. Protesters broke through police barricades at the Dak Bungalow roundabout, prompting heavy police deployment and intervention. Officers dragged and detained numerous participants, loading them into buses and a police anti-riot vehicle to clear the area. According to reports, one protester temporarily incapacitated a police anti-riot vehicle carrying about two dozen detained students by fleeing with its keys near the J.P. roundabout.

All India Students’ Association (AISA) State president Dhananjay Kumar and vice-president Saba Afrin stated that the BJP won polls using a faulty SIR exercise and vowed that protests would continue until CEC Gyanesh Kumar is removed from office.

Paliganj CPI(M-L) MLA Sandeep Saurav, who joined the demonstration outside Gandhi Maidan, accused the Election Commission of presiding over a flawed process. “A crisis has struck the country’s democracy. The entire SIR process was full of errors. We want the resignation of the CEC of India,” he told media persons.

The district administration maintained that the demonstration violated local regulations. Patna District Magistrate, Senior Superintendent of Police, and Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma stated that Gardanibagh is the sole designated venue for protests in the district. Authorities warned that any demonstration outside this approved site is unauthorised and subject to legal action.