Fact Check: Protest against ‘vote theft’ in Patna? No, video is unrelated to Bihar elections
A viral video claims to show Patna residents protesting against alleged ‘vote theft’ after the Bihar Assembly election results were announced.
By - M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The video shows a protest in Patna against ‘vote theft’ after the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is from Jaipur, Rajasthan, and shows a torch procession taken out in support of an activist on a hunger strike, unrelated to Bihar or elections.
Hyderabad: In the context of the recently concluded Bihar Assembly election, a video of a massive torch-lit procession at night has gone viral.
Those sharing the video claim that it shows Patna residents protesting the BJP and the Election Commission, alleging vote chori (vote theft).
A Facebook user shared the clip with the caption, “People protest against vote theft in Patna ECI–BJP.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
The video also carries an overlay featuring photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with the text: “People protest in Patna against vote theft. Vote thieves should step down.”
Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archive1, Archive2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is from Jaipur, Rajasthan, and shows a torch procession taken out in support of an activist on a hunger strike, unrelated to Bihar or the elections.
We extracted keyframes from the viral video and performed a Google reverse image search. This led us to an Instagram video with the caption, “Naresh Meena has been on a hunger strike till death in SMS Hospital. A huge torch procession was carried out under the leadership of his son Aniruddha to pay tribute to the children who died in the Jhalawad-Peeplodi accident.” (Translated from Hindi)
Using this information, we found a report about a torch procession NDTV Rajasthan report published on September 25.
The report stated that supporters of Naresh Meena in Jaipur took out a torch procession on the night of September 25. Naresh Meena, who has been on a hunger strike for 14 days, is demanding justice for the families of children who died in the Peeplodi school accident in Jhalawar. His son Aniruddha Meena and former minister Rajendra Gudha, along with hundreds of people, participated in the procession from Triveni Nagar Chouraha to Gurjar’s Thadi in Jaipur.
The location of the video
To find the exact location in the video, we analysed the video closely. We noticed shop signboards such as ‘SHANKAR MISHTAN BANDAR’ and an ‘Unacademy centre’. When we searched for these on Google Maps, we found the exact location in Jaipur, confirming the video’s origin.
The viral video does not show people protesting against alleged ‘vote theft’ after the Bihar Assembly election results. It is from Jaipur, Rajasthan, where supporters of Naresh Meena organised a torch procession demanding justice for children who died in the Jhalawar Peeplodi accident.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false.
