The dust has barely settled on the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, but the aftermath has been anything but quiet. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, stormed to victory, clinching 202 out of 243 seats and ensuring a return to power in the eastern Indian state. Yet, as celebrations erupted in some quarters, controversy and misinformation began spreading like wildfire across social media, raising questions about the integrity of the election and the state of public discourse in India.
Almost immediately after the NDA’s resounding win, a flurry of videos began circulating online. The clips, widely shared on platforms like X and Facebook, purported to show massive protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP in Bihar, allegedly sparked by the poll results. The implication was clear: the public was outraged, and Bihar was on the brink of unrest. But a closer look—one that many major news organizations, including Factly, undertook—tells a different story entirely.
According to Factly, none of the viral videos actually showed protests in Bihar following the NDA’s victory. In fact, a methodical investigation revealed that each of the five widely circulated videos was either from a different state, a different event, or even a different country. The first video, for instance, showed not a protest, but the funeral procession of beloved singer Zubeen Garg in Guwahati, Assam. Garg, who died in a tragic incident in Singapore on September 19, 2025, was mourned by thousands of fans as he was laid to rest. The footage, which predates the Bihar election results by months, was misappropriated to fuel a false narrative of post-poll chaos in Bihar.
The second video, meanwhile, was traced to a bullock cart race at the Hindkesari Ground in Pedgaon, Satara, Maharashtra. The audio on this clip had been manipulated to suggest a protest atmosphere, but the visuals themselves were unmistakably from a rural sporting event, not a political demonstration. Factly noted that this same video had previously been used to spread other false narratives, including claims that it depicted crowds at rallies for Prime Minister Modi and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
The third video took the misinformation game international. It actually showed an arson attack during the Gen-Z protests in Nepal in September 2025, specifically an attack on the house of Birgunj Mayor Rajesh Man Singh. Again, there was no connection to Bihar or its elections. The fourth video, on the other hand, was from a Mashal rally organized by the Youth Congress in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on August 13-14, 2025—months before Bihar’s election results were declared. The rally was a protest against the BJP and alleged vote theft, but it had nothing to do with Bihar’s post-election scenario.
Finally, the fifth video did come from Bihar—but not from a protest. It showed an RJD candidate’s campaign event near Khangraitha High School in Nahas Rupauli, Bihar, on November 9, 2025, five days before the election results. While RJD party flags were visible, the clip captured a routine campaign event, not a demonstration against the election outcome or the ECI. Social media posts suggested the event was attended by RJD candidate Khesari Lal Yadav, though this detail could not be independently verified. What was clear, however, was that the video could not possibly show protests in response to the NDA’s win, as the results had not yet been announced.
Factly’s investigation concluded unequivocally: “There are no credible reports of any large-scale protests in Bihar after the NDA’s 2025 election victory, and none of the viral videos show any such protests.” A Google search using relevant keywords yielded no major news reports of mass agitation linked to the election results. In an era where news travels fast and misinformation even faster, this thorough debunking was a breath of fresh air for those seeking the truth.
But the controversy didn’t end with viral videos. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the principal opposition party in Bihar, has alleged anomalies in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the polls. According to multiple media reports, the RJD is considering legal action, arguing that the results do not reflect the will of the people. “The Bihar poll result is no reflection of people’s desire,” the RJD stated, indicating that they may move court to challenge the outcome. The party’s claims have not gone unnoticed, but as of now, there is no concrete evidence in the public domain to support widespread EVM tampering or malfunction.
The RJD’s stance has resonated with some segments of the opposition, which suffered a crushing defeat in these polls. The NDA’s overwhelming win has left the opposition bloc searching for answers—and, in some cases, for avenues to contest the outcome. While skepticism about EVMs is not new in Indian politics, the current allegations have not yet translated into large-scale protests or disruptions on the ground, according to reports from Factly and other major outlets.
Yet, the passions stoked by the election results have had tragic consequences. In Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, a political argument over the Bihar poll verdict turned deadly. On November 17, 2025, Shankar Manjhi, a 22-year-old laborer from Bihar’s Shivhar district, was killed following a drunken brawl with his maternal uncles, Rajesh and Toofani Manjhi. According to NDTV, Shankar supported the RJD, while his uncles were JD(U) backers. The heated debate escalated into physical violence, with Rajesh and Toofani allegedly dragging Shankar to a muddy area and pinning him down, resulting in his death. Both men were arrested and confessed to the murder. The incident, while isolated, underscores the intensity of political rivalries and the very real human cost of election season in India.
The 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections have thus become a case study in both the power and peril of information in the digital age. On one hand, the NDA’s victory is a testament to its organizational strength and voter appeal in Bihar. On the other, the rapid spread of misinformation and the resulting confusion highlight the need for vigilance, media literacy, and responsible reporting. As the RJD weighs its legal options and the state moves forward under NDA rule, the real story lies not in viral videos or conspiracy theories, but in the facts on the ground—and the lives touched by politics, for better or worse.
In the end, while rumors and allegations continue to swirl, the absence of credible reports of mass protests and the swift debunking of viral videos serve as a reminder: not everything that trends is true, and the truth, though sometimes slower to circulate, remains undefeated.
