TMC leader didn't congratulate BJP candidate on ‘upcoming win’ in Indian general election

What is the claim?

Just two days before the second phase of polling begins in India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head Amit Malviya shared a video on social media claiming that Deepak (Dev) Adhikari, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament (MP) and the party's candidate from Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency in India's state of West Bengal, congratulated the BJP candidate from the constituency of Balurghat on his ‘upcoming win’ in the elections. Balurghat is another Lok Sabha constituency in the state. 

He wrote, “TMC’s defeat can’t get more obvious when their Ghatal candidate and star campaigner Deepak Adhikari congratulates BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar on his upcoming win from Balurghat. Mamata Banerjee is increasingly getting isolated with voters and her leaders, both, deserting the sinking ship. Bengal has decided to rout the TMC.”

The post had garnered nearly 67,000 views and 898 likes at the time of writing this story. An archived version of the post can be accessed here.

Screenshot of the viral post. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. Adhikari, who is also a Bengali actor, was extending his best wishes to Majumder for the polls. He did not congratulate Majumder on 'winning' the seat where elections are yet to be held. 

What is the source of the clip?

Apart from being the TMC candidate and incumbent MP from Ghatal, Dev is also a star campaigner for the party and has been campaigning for TMC candidates from several constituencies. 

We checked Dev's official Facebook account and found that the viral clip (archive here) was taken from the footage of an election rally held in Balurghat on April 23, when the actor and politician addressed the crowd in support of the Balurghat TMC candidate Biplab Mitra. Mitra is up against BJP State President Majumder in the constituency, which is going to the polls in the second phase of polling.

The viral clip can be seen between the 3:30 and 3:54 timestamp of this over 20-minute-long video. In the clip, Dev says in Bengali, “I have many friends who are in the BJP, and Sukanta Da is one of them. He is one of my favorite people. Best wishes to Sukanta Da. In politics, whoever wins, I believe it should be the person whom people love and believe in. So, from this stage, I wish Sukanta Majumder the best.” 

Not congratulations, but courtesy

Further, on watching the full video, it becomes clear that Dev was extending his best wishes to Majumder as a form of courtesy. Just before he extended his wishes, at the 3:25-minute mark, Dev can be heard saying, “Let’s do some courtesy.”

After this part, between the 3:55-minute and 4:06-minute mark, the TMC leader said, “Who will win, who will lose, we will see on June 4, but I came here for Biplab Da. I want, from my heart, for my candidate, my party’s candidate, Biplab Da, to win from this seat.” 

This further confirms that Dev was actually rooting for the TMC candidate Biplab Mitra. 

Dev issues clarification

Dev also clarified on X (formerly Twitter) (archive here) that he didn’t congratulate Majumder and that his comments were a matter of courtesy. He wrote in Bengali, “Sukanta Da @DrSukantaBJP explain a little to your leaders, teach Bengali, what courtesy means. It’s not his fault, he doesn't understand Bengali. Maybe he would understand if it were said in Hindi. Explain what I meant to say?(sic)"

The verdict

A speech by TMC leader Deepak Adhikari was misinterpreted as him congratulating BJP's candidate from Balurghat on his ‘upcoming win’ in the Lok Sabha polls. Adhikari had actually just wished him luck and didn’t congratulate him.