DigitEye India Fact Checkers
Amid the heated campaign in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, a video of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has gone viral, depicting him saying that it’s better to vote for BJP than the Trinamool Congress.
It’s better to vote for the BJP, than voting for TMC.
– Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury pic.twitter.com/3AMS65WD1l
— Kankana Das 💕 (@Kankana_Das_) May 1, 2024
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the Opposition leader in Lok Sabha and President of the West Bengal Congress. In the video, he can be heard saying, “Voting for BJP is much better than voting for Trinamool”. Soon after the video surfacing on social media, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee slammed Chowdhury for the failure of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc in West Bengal and alleged that he was working for BJP, instead.
Why do we say that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is BJP’s eyes and ears in Bengal?
👉 Despite his name being mentioned in Saradha chief Sudipto Sen’s letter, he has never been summoned by Central Agencies
👉 He has never uttered a word against the BJP-led Centre’s unjust withholding… pic.twitter.com/oNrzwsClBr— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 1, 2024
See the video being share on social media here and here.
FACT-CHECK
Digiteye India checked for the original video of the speech by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and traced it to his campaigning for Congress candidate Murtaza Hossain, who is fighting from West Bengal’s Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency.
The full version of the video posted on the official Facebook page of the West Bengal Congress on April 30, 2024. The context was West Bengal Pradesh Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was addressing a public meeting in support of Left Front-backed Indian National Congress candidate Murtaza Hossain (Bakul) at Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency in Lalgola.
In this video, Chowdhury can be heard saying, “According to recent surveys, 100 seats have already slipped out of Modi’s hand, and it continues declining. Congress and the Left must win. Without their victory, secularism in India will disappear. Voting for BJP is much better than voting for Trinamool. So no TMC or BJP, only vote for Congress candidate Bakul (Murtaza Hossain). He will always be with you.”
News agency ANI also posted the video on May 1, 2024.
#WATCH | Murshidabad, West Bengal: State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “This time ‘400 paar’ won’t happen…100 seats have already slipped away from the hands of PM Modi…It is necessary to make Congress and CPI(M) win. If Congress and CPI(M) don’t win,… pic.twitter.com/kzyywkAZIS
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2024
Taken the full context, he was explaining how a vote for either TMC or BJP would not help, but only the part where he said, “Voting for BJP is much better than voting for Trinamool,” was taken and shared. the full video of the speech shows him saying, “So no TMC or BJP, only vote for Congress.” Hence, the clipped video has been used to mislead viewers on social media.
The West Bengal Congress Party unit has also denied and complained to the Election Commission about the viral video being shared with misinterpretation.
Claim: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of West Bengal Congress said, “Voting for BJP is much better than voting for Trinamool.”
Conclusion: The claim is false. The full speech has been edited to show only that part where he said ‘better vote for BJP instead of Trinamool Congress’. The full video of the speech shows him saying, “So no TMC or BJP, only vote for Congress.” Hence, the clipped video has been used to mislead viewers on social media.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
