Bengal Election: TMC Leader’s Viral Video Taken Out of Context

After the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly Election concluded with record voter turnout across 152 seats, both the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have claimed imminent victory, with each party expressing confidence in securing more than 100 seats.

Amid this electoral battleground, a video featuring Anubrata Mondal, a prominent TMC leader and once a close associate of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has gone viral on social media platforms. In the clip, Mondal appears to make a startling admission that his party might not win even “15-16 seats” in the first phase of voting.

The video was widely shared by BJP officials and supporters. Raju Bista, the BJP MP from Darjeeling, posted the clip with the caption: “Anubrata Mondal, known as Keshto and considered to be close to TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee, says that TMC may not even get 15-16 seats in the first phase. There’s not just a BJP wave, the BJP tsunami is uploading.”

Keya Ghosh, another BJP activist from Bengal, echoed similar sentiments when sharing the clip, claiming it showed internal admission of defeat from within the TMC’s ranks.

However, a fact-check investigation reveals that the viral clip was deliberately edited to distort context. The complete video shows Mondal was actually predicting poor performance for the BJP, not his own party.

In the unedited footage published by Bengali news outlet Ei Samay, Mondal states: “People turned out and voted in large numbers this time; they didn’t need to be told to step out and vote. I have never seen such a high number of polls, and such high numbers mean it is in favor of Didi (CM Mamata Banerjee).” He continues by expressing doubt about the BJP winning even 15-16 seats, not the TMC as portrayed in the edited clip.

When asked about overall seat projections, Mondal expressed confidence in the TMC securing between 235-240 seats in the full assembly election.

The misleading portrayal of Mondal’s statement comes at a crucial juncture in West Bengal politics, where both parties are vying for electoral dominance in one of India’s most politically significant states. The high-stakes election has been marked by intense campaigning and sharp rhetoric from both sides.

Mondal’s own political trajectory adds another layer to this story. Once an influential figure in Birbhum district, his standing within the TMC has diminished considerably in recent years. In 2022, he was charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a cattle-smuggling case and subsequently arrested, leading to a measured distancing by the TMC’s top leadership.

Further controversies followed in 2025 when Mondal made headlines for verbally abusing a police officer in Bolpur, a conversation that went viral on social media. That same year, he was removed from his district president position following a party restructuring.

During the current election campaign, observers noted visible tension between Mondal and party leadership when he attempted to speak with Mamata Banerjee at a public event. Video footage showed him appearing visibly frustrated and leaving the stage as Banerjee continued conversing with other party members, including Kajal Sheikh, reportedly a rival of Mondal.

This apparent friction with top TMC leadership made the misrepresented video seem plausible to many observers, explaining its rapid spread across social media platforms.

The incident highlights the growing challenge of misinformation in Indian electoral politics, particularly through selectively edited video content designed to shape public perception. As voting continues in subsequent phases across West Bengal, the battle extends beyond the ballot box to the information landscape, where narrative control remains hotly contested.

Political analysts suggest that such misleading content may influence voter sentiment in remaining phases of the election, particularly in closely contested constituencies where small perception shifts could potentially impact outcomes.