The results of the Bihar Assembly elections were announced on 14 November 2025, with the BJP-led NDA winning 202 of the 243 seats. Following the outcome, opposition parties alleged that the Election Commission favoured the BJP and facilitated vote manipulation (here, here). Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister for the 10th time on 20 November 2025 at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Amid this, a video is circulating on social media claiming to show a protest against the BJP at Gandhi Maidan in Bihar. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows a protest against the BJP at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Bihar.
Fact: The video does not show a protest against the BJP at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Bihar. It actually depicts a demonstration by the DNT (Denotified Tribes) community in Balrai village on the Delhi–Mumbai Highway in Pali district, Rajasthan. The protest was held to demand reservation, rehabilitation, education, and employment rights, during which clashes occurred between the protesters and the police. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of key frames from the viral video led us to the same video uploaded on the Instagram handle named ‘rj22_chandawal’ on 08 November 2025. On the same day, another video was also shared from the same handle showing a mob pelting stones at the police.
Upon reviewing his profile, we noticed that a phone number was listed in the account’s bio. When contacted, a person named Vinod stated that the video is from Pali district in Rajasthan, where protesters clashed with the police a few days ago during a demonstration by the Devasi community.
We then conducted a Google search using relevant keywords and found a video report by a Rajasthan-based regional news outlet, The Khatak, published on their YouTube channel on 07 November 2025. The viral visuals can be seen in this report, titled: “DNT and Police face to face in Balrai of Pali; tear gas shells were fired and stone pelting also took place — Live Video.” In the video, the same banner seen in the viral clip appears, reading “Great Boycott Movement” (महा-बहिष्कार आंदोलन). A comparison can be seen below.
We found another report by The Khatak on their YouTube channel, in which a correspondent reported live from the Delhi–Mumbai Highway in Barlai village, Pali district. He stated that members of the DNT community had organised a major protest demanding reservation and other rights. According to the report, around 25 communities were participating and had blocked one side of the highway, resulting in long queues of vehicles. Despite a heavy police presence and attempts by officials to negotiate, the protesters remained agitated, alleging that the government was ignoring their demands. The correspondent noted that the crowd was attempting to move onto the highway to intensify the protest, warning that the administration would be responsible for any disruption or damage if their concerns were not addressed.
We also found multiple media reports (here, here, and here) about the unrest. These reports state that the Rashtriya Pashupalak Sangh and the DNT (Denotified Tribes) Sangharsh Samiti had organised a mass boycott in Balrai village, Pali, with thousands participating. The protest brought traffic on the national highway to a halt, and clashes erupted when the situation escalated, prompting the police to use mild force to disperse the crowd. The protesters were demanding concrete measures for rehabilitation, education, employment, and reservation for the DNT community, which they argue continues to face neglect even decades after independence. The DNT community consists of groups once listed under the British-era Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, later denotified after the Act was repealed in 1952.
Using Google Street View, we traced the location where the viral video was recorded and confirmed that it is in Balrai, Rajasthan, and has no connection to Bihar. A comparison between the viral video, the news report, and Google Maps Street View can be seen below.
To sum up, a Rajasthan protest video is shared with false claims of showing a protest against the BJP at Gandhi Maidan, Patna.
