2019 video of a mob attacking a BJP leader in West Bengal shared as a recent incident amidst the 2024 Lok Sabha elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 30, 2024
Amidst the ongoing 2024 general elections, a video showing a mob dragging a person and kicking him into bushes is being widely shared across social media platforms. The claim accompanying the video suggests that it shows a recent attack on a BJP leader in the wake of the 2024 general elections (here, here, and here). In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing a mob attacking a BJP leader amid the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Fact: The viral video dates back to November 2019 and originates from West Bengal. It depicts a mob attack on Jay Prakash Majumdar, who was a BJP leader at that time and the BJP’s candidate in the Karimpur assembly by-poll. Jay Prakash Majumdar was suspended by the BJP in January 2022, and later, he joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in March 2022. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To learn more about this viral video, we conducted a relevant keyword search which led us to multiple reports from 2019 containing a longer version of the viral video. According to a report published by ‘India Today, on 25 November 2019, BJP’s Jay Prakash Majumdar was allegedly manhandled by TMC workers during the Karimpur by-poll. Majumdar is the BJP’s candidate for the Karimpur assembly by-poll.
The video was also shared on YouTube by ‘The Print’ on 25 November 2019, with the title “West Bengal BJP vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar allegedly manhandled, kicked by TMC workers.” Additional news reports regarding this incident can be viewed here and here.
The official X(Twitter) handle of the BJP also shared the video(archived link) of the attack on Jay Prakash Majumdar during the Karimpur by-poll on 25 November 2019.
Anarchy!
This is what Mamata Banerjee’s regime is about!
Watch this disturbing footage where TMC workers manhandle and kick BJP’s state Vice President and candidate for Karimpur bypoll Joy Prakash Majumdar while voting is underway in the constituency. pic.twitter.com/w6xk7wjeXY
According to reports (here, here, and here), Jay Prakash Majumdar was suspended by the BJP in January 2022 and joined the Trinamool Congress(TMC) in March 2022.
To sum up, a 2019 video of a mob attacking a BJP leader in West Bengal is being shared as a recent incident, falsely linking it to the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections.