DigitEye India Fact Checkers
As the West Bengal Assembly election campaign is going on, some videos on social media appeared with claims that Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Saayoni Ghosh was allegedly “harassed by her own party members” in Asansol and that she was forced to run.
Several media outlets such as Opindia published news claiming the same on 22 March, with a headline: “Bengal: Actress Saayoni Ghosh, TMC candidate from Asansol, forced to run after being harassed by her own party members”. The following video on Anandabazar Patrika was quoted by many of them.
The video has been shared here and here. Some messages claimed an ETV Bharat report that the TMC candidate was “manhandled by her own party members” while campaigning in Burnpur.
FACT CHECK
When we checked Youtube for Saayoni Ghosh, there were several videos uploaded about TMC candidate Saayoni Ghosh in which she was seen running during the campaign trail in West Bengal’s Asansol to catch up with the party workers in the front with loudspeakers. See the video below:
She has also uploaded a video on Facebook on 24 March with a caption:“My feet my will.” These visuals have been carried out in several local news channels such as Anandabazar Patrika.
Soon, a search on Google further denial of the claim by Saayoni Ghosh in a press note:
“To reach people we don’t only have to walk, we can run as well. All party members – old and young – walk and run to keep pace with one another. I will decide if I want to walk or run. People sitting in Delhi do not control my movement here with a remote control…Didi and our party members have given me complete freedom to campaign in whatever way I like. I find the opposition’s remarks funny. They are not able to find anyone, which is why they are making things up. I was shocked at the coverage by some media houses. There’s a lack of factual/true news (reports).”
Further, the ETV Bharat article that has been quoted by Opindia among others, does not claim that the TMC candidate was “harassed by her own party members”. The ETV Bharat article stated that she got annoyed when a group of supporters came close to her. The same was corroborated by The Quint journalist who was part of the campaign coverage in the village.
Claim: Saayoni Ghosh, contesting the West Bengal elections, was harassed by her own party workers during the campaign trail and had to run away from them with video footage.
Conclusion: The visuals of Ghosh running during her campaign trail were shared on social media with the false claim that she was “harassed by her own party members” and hence running away. An ace runner, she never shied away from running during the campaign and defended it often.
Our Rating: Totally False — 
