TMC accuses BJP of funding YouTube campaign to incite religious divisions in Bengal

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of orchestrating a coordinated campaign through YouTube influencers to deliberately stoke religious tensions in West Bengal ahead of upcoming polls. Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that the saffron party has financially incentivized content creators to generate divisive narratives designed to polarize voters along communal lines.

Ghosh pointed to a specific instance involving a Kolkata-based YouTuber who created controversy over beef being served at a city restaurant, claiming the influencer received ₹2.5 lakh from the BJP for the provocative content. The allegation suggests a deliberate strategy to weaponize social media platforms for electoral advantage by amplifying religious grievances.

The Trinamool spokesperson's claims are rooted in discrepancies in BJP election expenditure records, which the party contends reveal payments to digital content creators whose output has predominantly focused on inflammatory religious and communal themes. The allegations underline growing concerns about the role of social media influencers in shaping electoral narratives during Indian elections.

The BJP has not yet responded to the accusations. Election authorities have been approached with documentation of the alleged payments as part of ongoing scrutiny of campaign finance practices ahead of the state elections.