All India Students Association (AISA) members climb over police barricades during a 'Lok Bhawan March' to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls, in Patna on October 13, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI
Young protesters and members of the students’ wings of Left parties, 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 took out a protest march in Patna on Tuesday (October 13, 2026), seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and re-elections in Bihar and West Bengal, where, they alleged “vote chori (theft) through the SIR (Special Intensive Revision)” had taken place.
Police personnel were seen stopping and dragging protesting youth on the main streets near the Dak Bungalow chauraha (roundabout) here, as the protesters attempted to march from the historic Gandhi Maidan to the Raj Bhavan. Shouting slogans, the young protesters broke past the police barricade at the city’s main crossing.
Heavy deployment of police personnel was overseen by officials. Many students were detained and taken in buses to designated areas for dispersal.
A police anti-riot vehicle filled with about two dozen detained students was seen stranded at the J.P. roundabout near Gandhi Maidan for some time. One of the protesting students had fled with the keys to the vehicle, leaving the driver helpless, some reports said.
“We demand the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, PM Modi, and re-elections in Bihar and West Bengal as they (the BJP) won the poll with the faulty SIR exercise,” All India Students’ Association (AISA) State president Dhananjay Kumar and vice-president Saba Afrin said, adding, “The protest will continue until Mr. Kumar resigns or is removed from his post.”
“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,” CPI (M-L) MLA from Paliganj Sandeep Saurav, 38, who participated in the protest, told media persons outside Gandhi Maidan.
The district administration has designated Patna’s Gardanibagh area as the venue to hold protests, and “any demonstration beyond the area designated will be subject to legal action”, the Patna District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police said.
“No permission is granted for demonstrations or strikes at locations other than the designated site,” Patna Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma said.
Published - October 13, 2026 07:58 pm IST