TMC alleges BJP used paid influencers to shape Bengal poll narrative

The Trinamool Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using paid YouTubers and social media influencers to promote what it described as a manufactured religiously polarising narrative before the West Bengal Assembly election. TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh made the allegation on Friday, September 26, referring to expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission. According to the material, the BJP reported total election spending of ₹286.99 crore in West Bengal.

Mr. Ghosh said the expenditure details had brought the names of several YouTubers who received payments from the BJP into the public domain. He cited the case of a creator who caused controversy after alleging that a Kolkata restaurant had served him beef instead of mutton when he had ordered mutton.

Mr. Ghosh said the creator received ₹2.5 lakh from the BJP. He questioned whether some online creators had been paid more than the value of the content they produced, and distinguished such payments from advertising placed by mainstream media organisations.

The TMC spokesperson alleged that the creators had presented themselves as journalists while carrying out paid assignments. He called for an investigation into their conduct and said the payments raised wider questions about public trust in the media. The BJP’s spending, according to the material, included ₹217.16 crore on general campaigning and ₹69.83 crore on candidates.

The source does not include a response from the BJP to Mr. Ghosh’s allegations. Both the BJP and the TMC used social media influencers during the election campaign.

The TMC had launched a programme called ‘Ami Banglar Digital Joddha’. The BJP won 207 of the 293 seats for which results were declared, while the TMC won 80.