Opposition parties in Bihar enforced a statewide shutdown on Wednesday, mounting road and rail blockades to protest the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls ahead of state elections due later this year. Demonstrators burned tyres and halted traffic on National Highways 83 and 57, while railway services—including the Namo Bharat and Patna-Gaya passenger trains—were stopped in Jehanabad, Darbhanga, Araria and other districts. Police erected barricades and tightened security around the Election Commission’s Patna office as crowds gathered. Congress leader and Lok Sabha opposition chief Rahul Gandhi flew into Patna early in the day and, alongside Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and independent MP Pappu Yadav, led thousands of supporters on a march from the Income Tax roundabout to the state Election Commission headquarters. The protest, backed by the wider INDIA bloc and several trade unions, was billed as a “chakka jam” designed to paralyse normal activity across Bihar in solidarity with what organisers called a fight to protect voter rights. The Mahagathbandhan alleges that the SIR—launched on 24 June and requiring voters to furnish one of 11 identity documents—risks deleting the names of Dalits, migrant labourers and other marginalised groups. The coalition has petitioned the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the challenge on Thursday. The Election Commission has not publicly responded to Wednesday’s accusations, but ruling-party leaders dismissed the shutdown as political theatre before the assembly polls. Transport services began resuming gradually by late afternoon, though opposition leaders warned of further action if the revision exercise is not suspended.